Zach Edey
Edey is Memphis's starting center, and the club is easing him back from two left ankle surgeries and an elbow surgery with capped minutes and maintenance rest.
Role
He started the Oct. 21 opener at Utah alongside Ty Jerome, Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells and Cameron Boozer (NBC Sports). He played 21 minutes in that game, and CBS/Rotowire said he had not gone past 22 minutes in his first two regular-season games. The Sunday game against Sacramento (Oct. 25 by the CBS/Rotowire dates) was a rest day for left ankle management, which the supplied wire note covers. Isaiah Stewart started in his place and played 22 minutes. Edey came off the injury report for the Monday game against Utah, and CBS said he sat the first game of a back-to-back for maintenance. I did not find his minutes for the Oct. 29 game at Portland. A Yahoo piece from Oct. 30 says Edey and Stewart will play most of the center minutes. I found no published usage rate, and no ruling on whether he will sit more back-to-backs.
Rotowire says that after ankle surgery delayed his 2025-26 debut, he averaged 13.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.8 minutes per game. Fox notes he is still averaging 9.5 boards a game on low-20s minutes. He is a 7-foot-4, 300-pound starter on a rebuilding team. Optimists expect the minutes to rise once the club trusts the ankle, and CBS's headline says more minutes are on the way.
His ankle has cost him much of two seasons. Our data shows only 5 games played last season, and Fox cites 11 regular-season games for 2025-26. He has had two ankle surgeries plus an elbow surgery this year, and Memphis has already held him out of a game for management. Stewart is a ready backup, and Boozer starts next to him, so the workload could stay limited. Memphis has also hedged its bets on the ankle, per AP.
Where analysts split
The open question is whether the minute cap and maintenance rest, such as sitting one game of a back-to-back, are short-term caution or the plan for the season. The sources I found do not say, and I found no analyst arguing either side in depth.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at C
Fantasy Memo reads your league and answers that every Monday, and checks your lineup on the days you play.
Connect your league: 14 days free