As we approach week three of the preseason, many of you may have been wondering where the star player you plan to draft has been the first two weeks, so I wrote this article to try to put some of your worries to rest. Below are some of the key players that haven't played a snap so far in the preseason and an explanation of why they haven't, which will hopefully allow you to sleep a little bit better (or worse I guess, depending on what you expected to hear):

• Steven Jackson (RB-STL): Where has Steven Jackson been this preseason so far? If you happen to be a Jackson owner in a league where the draft has already taken place, I'm sure that you are well aware that he's currently holding out, expecting the team to propose a contract extension that will keep him financially sound well into the future. There were rumors over the weekend that these talks had progressed somewhat, but that does not appear to be the case. Coach Linehan stated "It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener...Every day we miss now...does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start." It appears that the team is beginning to plan for a start of the season without Steven Jackson (or at least with a non-100% ready Jackson), which is not a good thing for fantasy owners. If they can work out a new contract and get him into at least the last preseason game for some reps, you should be alright though. You're still drafting Jackson as a top five running back, but because of these contract questions, and the fact that the offense has looked bad in general this preseason, I'm taking him at #5, behind LT, AP, Addai and Westbrook. (Update 8/20/08: Steven Jackson has ended his holdout! Feel free to take him with the 3rd to 5th pick of the draft.)
• Ryan Grant (RB-GB): After earning a big contract extension last season, Grant has been nursing a strained hamstring this preseason and the team is most likely protecting their investment at this point. He says that he'd be out on the field if it was the regular season, but he's just taking it careful. There appears to be no risk at this point of him missing any time to start the year, so draft him as normal, towards the end of the first round or beginning of the second.
• LaDainian Tomlinson (RB-SD): In case you're a rookie to fantasy football, LT not seeing the field in the preseason is a regular thing. The team knows that he is smart/talented enough to bring 100% to the table come opening day...and they also know that he is too valuable to the team to risk losing him to ANY type of injury in a meaningless preseason game (meaningless to LT at least). If you're an LT owner, you're happy he's not out there getting abused for this entire month.
• Willis McGahee (RB-BAL): As we've reported earlier, it is currently looking questionable as to whether McGahee will be on the field to start the season for the team. Willis had arthroscopic knee surgery a few weeks ago and will not practice or participate in preseason games before the start of the regular season. If you draft McGahee, you're going to have to use an earlier than expecteced pick on backup Ray Rice, unless you already have a decent RB3 candidate to plug in for a game or two. We've already adjusted our running back power rankings accordingly though, so if you were using them as your cheat sheets...you'll be all set!
• Tom Brady (QB-NE): As with all Patriots injuries, it is hard to read into the extent (if any) of Brady's mysterious foot injury. He's not sure he'll play this this weekend against the Eagles, but at this point we see no reason why you should adjust any draft strategy including his name. We fully expect to see him out there throwing touchdowns to Randy Moss and 15 completions to Wes Welker in week one of the regular season...and so should you.
• Peyton Manning (QB-IND): Yesterday Manning attended his first practice after getting knee surgery five weeks ago, but still hasn't taken part in full-pad practice. He and the team are optimistic that he will be on the field for the start of the season, but that doesn't mean that you should be as confident. You should still draft Manning after Brady, as the second quarterback taken, but make sure to get a decent backup just in case Manning doesn't see the field week one.
• Anquan Boldin (WR-ARI): Apparently jealous (although he says it's not the reason) that fellow receiver Larry Fitzgerald signed a whopping four year, $40 million contract in the offseason, Boldin has not seen the field this preseason yet because he also wants a new deal. Recently he claimed that the relationship between he and management has broken down and become such an unrepairable mess that he wants to be traded, but that seems to be unlikely...at least for this season. Expect a new deal to be in place for Boldin before the beginning of the season and to see him out there on opening day catching passes as usual.
• Plaxico Burress (WR-NYG): Surprise, surprise...Burress has been missing preseason games with a sore ankle (I'm pretty sure he's always questionable with a sore ankle or something). Apparently he's back at practice, trying to get used to new orthotics in his shoes. Even if he doesn't play in the next preseason game, you can draft him with confidence knowing that he will be out there for the first week of the season. Burress is in good company with Tom Brady (and his mysterious shoulder injury) as a player who will be listed as questionable nearly the entire season, but will still play in every game.
• Andre Johnson (WR-HOU): Johnson, who missed much of last season with a knee injury, has been sitting out of preseason action so far nursing a groin injury. The team is saying that he should be ready to play in this weeks game, and if it was the regular season he'd be playing already, which is good to hear. Expect to see him out there in week one and to pick up where he left off last season...averaging a bit under 6 receptions, 100 yards and a TD per game.
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR-CIN): Housh has been battling a sore hamstring since the first week of training camp and it appears that he will see little to no action in this preseason. The team wants to ensure that he is healthy and ready to go to start the season. While a hamstring injury on a receiver might scare you a bit from drafting TJ, I'm still pretty confident that he'll be ready to go and resume his role as Palmer's security blanket and primary touchdown target when the season starts. At this point, draft him as if he was completely healthy.
• Greg Jennings (WR-GB): Jennings, who had a breakout season last year (920 yards, 12 TD), has been fighting through knee soreness this preseason. He says he is excited to play in this weekend's game though and he has participated in multiple full-pad practices recently and reported no lingering issues, so he appears good to go. While the fact that he no longer has Brett Favre throwing him the ball might cause you to expect a slight decrease in fantasy stats this year, don't let this knee injury affect where you take him in your draft.
• Antonio Gates (TE-SD): Breaking news...Gates has been removed from the teams physical unable to perform list! Gates has been suffering through some toe pain throughout the preseason, causing many a fantasy manager to drop him down the cheat sheet a few spots. However, coach Turner believes that he'll be ready to go on opening day, and passing the physical to get off the PUP was the first step. While I am still drafting Cowboys Jason Witten at the top of the tight end class, Gates should be drafted shortly after that as the second tight end, as he's still the favorite target of quarterback Philip Rivers.