Ronnie Brown Officially Out for Season, Ricky Williams Stock To Rise

ESPN's Adam Schefter and many other sources have reported that Miami star running back Ronnie Brown's 2009 season is officially over .

NFL Soup was among the first to report the possibility of Brown's season coming to an end, based off of ProFootballTalk.com 's original speculation, and now the terrible news for Miami fans has come true.

Further reporting from Miami beat writer Jeff Darlington via Twitter said that Brown had a Lisfranc fracture. Despite negative connotations that go with Lisfranc injuries, immediate diagnosis apparently does not suggest that this is a career-threatening injury, not does it suggest Brown won't be able to make a full recovery for the 2010 NFL season.

Fantasy Perspective: As assumed in previous reports, this type of blow to Miami's offense will likely force Chad Henne and the passing attack to take on far more responsibility, while adding a solid boost to option (Wildcat) quarterback Pat White's value.

Regardless, the man who should reap all the benefits is Brown's former back-up and Miami's new starter, Ricky Williams . The former Texas product was already getting 10+ touches per game and producing at a high level, but should put up even bigger numbers as the lead back in a running back friendly system.

To paint an even better picture for Williams' owners, his next three games come against the Panthers, Bills, and Patriots, the first two being horrible run defenses, while New England isn't exactly a beast against the run, either.

Needless to say, if you have Brown it's time to cut him loose and pick up the best replacement possible, that is of course, if you're not in a Keeper league. Next stop, the waiver wire .

Williams, meanwhile, should see his status and role take a tremendous leap from a solid RB2 status to an elite RB1 option. He should be a must-start in all fantasy formats going forward.

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