You know it's a bad week in the NFL when the most fashionable accessory is a walking boot. While fantasy owners lick their wounds (or thank their lucky stars, thinking they avoided the injury bug), each incident will have consequences that could affect several fantasy fortunes. Even the ones who thought they escaped unharmed will be affected. While some of those owners will have to do major damage control, others will see new opportunities.

I doubt you drafted Robert Griffin III to be a starter, so the switch to Josh McCown last week probably didn't affect you much. In fact, it probably helped Gary Barnidge owners feel better about his prospects. But now that McCown's out following a shoulder injury, it'll be rookie Cody Kessler, or some guy off the street, behind center for what's left of the Browns' season.

While that's bad news for Barnidge owners, they're not the only ones affected. You know that owner who's waiting patiently for Josh Gordon to come back? How do you think they feel right about now? If their teams have suffered injuries, can they even afford to keep Gordon? Might they be tempted to ditch him?

Danny Woodhead's loss should be Melvin Gordon's gain. But with Keenan Allen also gone, Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams look to benefit as well. So far so good. But what about Rivers? How many weapons can you lose before your effectiveness wanes? It takes time to build chemistry with pass-catchers. And at this point, how much can he lean on a 36-year-old Antonio Gates? How effective can Dexter McCluster be right off the bat?

A player's injury doesn't just affect the owner of that player. Rookie Jacoby Brissett won in his first start, but LeGarrette Blount was the only guy worth starting (aside from a kicker or defense). Forget Edelman, Amendola, Gronkowski, White, Bennett or anybody else. Garoppolo's injury impacted maybe half your league, depending on how many teams invested in that offense.

Fantasy owners with Doug Martin on their teams aren't feeling great about a hamstring issue. But they shouldn't be alone. Jameis Winston might be on a different fantasy team, but he could suffer if Charles Sims doesn't come through. In turn, that can affect Mike Evans, whose good stat line hides the fact that he caught just six out of 16 passes thrown his way last weekend.

Peterson, Moncrief, Rawls and Foster. And so on, and so on, and so on. After an injury-filled week, you can probably see the impact on every team in your fantasy league. Forget the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game. Every fantasy owner is just a few degrees away from a bad shoulder, ACL, or torn meniscus. That includes you.

Once you recognize that impact, you realize you've got work to do. You might not have the depth you thought you had. You might have needs you didn't have last weekend. Even if other owners are hurting more, you might feel some of the fallout as well.

So yes, nothing in a fantasy league happens in a vacuum. But along with that risk comes some opportunity as well. You might be facing an owner who suddenly has a hole in their lineup, or you might have some lackluster players who have become trade bait. In the end, you could benefit from someone else's misery.

The first order of business is to recognize that you are affected, even if you don't have any injured players. And if you do, other injuries across the league might actually help you. Get in touch with your fellow owners and see if they're in panic mode. Be careful with the waiver wire, but see if there's an obvious new starter that can replace a scrub on your bench. Even if you don't need them, any weapon you keep out of another owner's hands is a weapon that can't be used to hurt you. Being smart this week could help you a month from now.

A fantasy owner might consider themselves lucky by dodging an injury bullet. But a shrewd owner will recognize that they (like all the other owners) were actually affected, and use it to their advantage. I hope you're able to do just that.

How has another player's injury affected one of your guys, positively or negatively? What are you doing about it? Share your thoughts below.