2026 PUP List Candidates

Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game in the NFL, and sometimes injuries from the previous season can cost players games in the following year. Players placed on the PUP list to begin the season must miss a minimum of four games. With that in mind, it makes sense to err on the side of caution with these players who won’t be able to contribute to your best ball rosters early in the year and may still take some time to ramp up their workloads after that. In addition, the backups to these players could provide usable early-season value as the de facto starter while their teammate gets healthy.

Note: I am not a doctor. As Sam Sherman mentioned in his 2024 rendition of this article, the assumptions made in this article are largely based on the medical knowledge of Edwin Porras, founder of PRO Athlete Physical Therapy. I’m using the same timelines Sam used last year that were originally provided by Edwin; by combining that baseline with a rigorous examination of news/updates/quotes available online, we can hopefully project a fairly accurate timeline for when we can expect these players to return to the gridiron. Of course, it’s only March and we’ll get plenty of concrete injury news in the coming months, but this should serve as a useful starting point.

1. Tyreek Hill (PUP Risk: High)

Hill tore his ACL and dislocated his knee on Sept. 29 and underwent surgery to repair multiple ligaments, including his ACL, in “late September.” It’s notable that Hill only had one major single-session surgery to repair everything in his knee rather than splitting it up (as Tank Dell did after his knee dislocation, which seems to have been worse than Hill’s). When the injury happened, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported the injury could sideline Hill into the 2026 season. Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has said that his goal is to be ready for the start of the season.

The full extent of Hill’s ligament damage isn’t concretely known, making it difficult to speculate on an exact recovery timeline. NFL insider Tom Pelissero said it’s unclear “when, or even if” Hill will return in 2026, far more pessimistic verbiage than I’ve seen anywhere else on Hill’s injury. What we know: Hill’s team is publicly optimistic about his prospects of returning early in the 2026 campaign. Hill’s team also has reason to publicly gas up his recovery timeline as Hill looks to sign with a new team after getting cut by the Dolphins. Pelissero’s wording makes this situation sound precarious, but it’s difficult to speculate without full knowledge of which ligaments were impacted.

Fantasy takeaways:

• Hill was one of the most speed-reliant WRs in football in his heyday; now, he’s 32 years old coming off a torn ACL, dislocated knee, and other unknown ligament damage. He’s not currently on an NFL roster, and his free agency may drag into the summer as teams await a firmer return-to-play timeline.
• In 2025, Hill wasn’t living up to his preseason ADP, but he still had six-plus targets in all four games he played and averaged 9.1 yards per target. He certainly didn’t have the overall WR1 ceiling he had in his prime, but Hill looked like he could still be a contributor to an NFL team pre-injury in 2025.
• Between the injury, advanced age, and a litany of off-field concerns, Hill is an incredibly risky click in 2026 drafts. There is certainly upside, but he’s well past his prime and coming off a major injury with an unknown return timeline. He’s also one of the few players who seems quite live for a midseason retirement and is on the record saying he contemplated retirement after his injury. Everyone has a price, but there’s a reason Tyreek is cheap right now. We are in total wait-and-see mode with Hill until we know when (if?) and where he’ll play in 2026.

2. Zach Charbonnet (PUP Risk: High)