As the season progresses and players begin to feel the wear and tear of a 16-game schedule, fantasy owners face a problem they didn’t face in the first few weeks. The NFL injury report lengthens each week, which forces owners to make hair-pulling decisions in their lineups. Problems cannot be solved on the waiver wire, so roster depth and viable bench options become the key to victory.

As Week 5 approaches, many guys may see little to no action due to lingering injuries that limited their practice time. Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook is nursing a sprained ankle from two weeks ago. Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer has a sore throwing elbow. Baltimore’s Willis McGahee has rib problems, and Big Ben has a whole slew of battle wounds in Pittsburgh.

All of these guys are listed as questionable for their Week 5 games, but how do their “questionable” tags translate in the fantasy world? Realistically it should mean “out.” Guys who play hurt typically struggle to get the job done on the field, so owners should avoid starting hurt them at all viable costs.

Last week, Westbrook was listed as questionable and was a game-time scratch. Palmer left many owners in a similar situation. In both cases, the term “questionable” applied, but proved to understate the real likeklihood that they play. Perhaps a worse scenario was Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who played but underwhelmed with 77 yards and no touchdowns while nursing a hamstring injury.

It may be difficult to bite the bullet and bench a star player, but it is even more difficult to watch them labor through four quarters of action at half speed. By deferring to a Julius Jones or Le’Ron McClain or any other healthy instead, an owner can save his fantasy team’s week.

Tread lightly around the injury report, use all the information given to you, assess the risk vs. reward of starting an injured player, and roll the dice. Playing questionable players, after all, is a crap shoot.