Fantasy Football Start 'Em or Sit 'Em: Looking At The Injured Running Backs

Some of the elite running backs in the league are banged up, right when fantasy owners need them most.  Let’s take a look at the news from yesterday and see where they currently stand:

Maurice Jones-Drew – Jacksonville Jaguars – Running Back

According to the team’s Twitter feed, Jones-Drew’s status (as well as the status of Mike Sims-Walker) will be revealed this afternoon.  Fantasy owners need to keep their fingers crossed that Jones-Drew can play, but considering he hasn’t practiced this week, it doesn’t look good.  At least we’ll know with plenty of time to setup a necessary alternative.

Christopher Ivory – New Orleans Saints – Running Back

He was quoted in the New Orleans Times-Picayune (click here to view the article) as saying, “Earlier in practice, it was feeling pretty good for the most part. But as we got to going, I tried to open up. And I’m probably not 100 percent, so once I tried to open up, I felt that grabbing feeling on it. But I think all that will get worked out this week. A little more treatment these next couple days, I think that will help.”

It clearly is concerning, though he did call himself 90 or 95 percent at this point.  With a Monday game it certainly would appear that he was likely to suit up, but there are numerous facts that are stacking up against him.  One is the depth the Saints have at running back, with Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Julius Jones also in the mix.  The second is the fact that you can’t be sure that his hamstring won’t force him out of action early.  At this point he’s a huge risk with your fantasy title on the line.  If you have an alternate option, you may want to use it.

Knowshon Moreno – Denver Broncos

The team’s Twitter feed noted that Moreno practiced on a limited basis yesterday.  That certainly is a good sign, though it isn’t a slam dunk that he suits up on Sunday.  Generally you think of Houston’s defense as poor against the pass, but with Tim Tebow running the show the Broncos will likely go with an attack more focused on the run and short passing game.  If he plays, he’s a viable RB2 depending on your other options. 

Keep checking the news, but we may not know for sure until Sunday.  With a 4:05 EST game, that makes the decision a little bit tougher.  Hopefully a little bit more light is shed on this in the coming days.

Adrian Peterson – Minnesota Vikings

Here’s an excerpt from ESPN 1500 AM (click here for the article):

“He was able to work out in practice and he made some improvement – dramatic improvement – from, say, Monday to now,” interim coach Leslie Frazier said after practice. “Is it enough to get us to game day? We’ll see. We have another day, so we’ll see how he does (Friday).”

Additionally, Peterson is quoted in the article as saying, “I don’t feel like I can do any further damage to it. It’s basically just a quad. Muscles are just tight. Pushing it will probably help it stretch a little more. That’s not my mindset at all. We have two games left and I’m trying to play in both of them.”

At this point we are basically in a holding pattern, but after last week’s sudden turn of events and a Sunday night game on the horizon fantasy owners clearly need to be taking every necessary precaution.  While you would love to play him against Washington, unless we know for sure by Sunday morning, you may just not be able to trust him.

Continue to monitor the situation and hope for the best at this point.  If he plays, he’s a definite RB1.

What are your thoughts on these situations?  Who would you play?  Who would you sit?

Also make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s rankings for Week 16:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers
• Top 15 Defenses
• Waiver Worthy
• Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em

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