Joseph Addai Injury: Should Fantasy Owners Start or Sit Colts RB vs. Saints?

The Indianapolis Colts will reportedly start Joseph Addai at running back Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints. Addai missed the team's Week 6 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals as he sat out with a hamstring injury. 

Addai had played surprisingly well through the first five weeks of the season, carrying the ball 56 times for 249 yards and a touchdown. The LSU product's 4.4 yards per carry average to open the year was his best since his rookie season in 2006. That said, Addai is a risky fantasy start in Week 7.

With their starting running back out in Week 6, the Colts used a combination of Delone Carter and Donald Brown to key their rushing attack. Carter finished the day with 14 carries for 45 yards, while Brown had five rushes for 35 yards and a touchdown, adding two catches for 16 yards. Neither guy broke out in a big way, but both showed enough to warrant carries in the future.

Though Addai will be back today he isn't expected to be 100 percent. Hamstring injuries are tricky, even if they are mild. It often takes several weeks for guys to be back to full-speed and even though Addai went through a full practice on Friday, I don't think he's completely healthy yet.

In addition to that, the sixth-year veteran will probably split carries with Carter and Brown anyway. Both of Addai's backups have looked good in limited duty and with the Colts' playoff hopes already down the drain the team is sure to want to find out what its two young running backs can do.

On the field this year Addai has looked better than he has over the past few seasons. While that's encouraging to anyone who is using a fantasy roster spot on him, the fact that the Colts are out of contention and looking towards the future is troubling for the running back's fantasy future. 

Sit Addai this week if you have him. There are too many factors working against him in Week 7.