Earnest Graham Injury: Update on Tampa Bay Buccaneers' RB's Leg Injury

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham has gone down with an apparent leg injury. He was an extremely popular pickup in fantasy leagues over the past two weeks, and he was set to get the bulk of the carries again this week.

He topped the century mark last week, and there was a good possibility they would have been able to do the same thing this week against the Chicago Bears.

Bad news struck for fantasy owners though in the early minutes of the game as he headed to the locker room with a leg injury, according to ESPN's John Clayton.

Fantasy Impact:

This will have a huge impact on fantasy owners who played Graham this week. He won't be returning to the game, so fantasy owners are going to be very upset about inserting him into their lineup this week.

It won't have much of an impact in the long run, as Blount is expected to return to the starting lineup after Tampa's bye week.

Who's the Backup:

As mentioned, Graham was Blount's backup, which means that Kregg Lumpkin will now enter the game as the starting RB for the rest of the game.

Lumpkin won't have much fantasy value going forward unless Blount continues to miss time.

Devastation Scale: 8/10

This is a huge loss for many fantasy owners. Graham was listed as a top 20 RB for this week prior to the game, but he won't be putting up many fantasy points now.

Graham could single-handedly cost you a fantasy matchup this week.

It's quite disappointing, as Graham had really been playing well this season, even in a limited role as Blount's backup.

If Graham misses serious time, this would be a serious blow to a Bucs offense that has been extremely inconsistent.

Timeline for Return:

As mentioned, Graham will be out for the remainder of this game, but the full extent of the injury is unknown at this time.

At this point, it would seem to be something serious if he has already been ruled out for the remainder of this game.

What They're Saying:

Both John Clayton of ESPN and Michael Fabiano of NFL Network have confirmed that he will be out for the remainder of the game.