Fred Jackson Injury: Buffalo Bills Star Back Is No Longer a Must-Start

The Buffalo Bills are turning into a fantasy wasteland.

I certainly wouldn't blame you for trying to trade RB Fred Jackson at this point—especially now that he may miss next week's game with a calf injury. He left in the second half of Sunday's 35-8 loss against the Dolphins limping, and did not return. He says it's just a bruise, but who knows how it will look/feel on Monday morning?

It's a crushing blow for a 5-5 Bills team that plays the 5-5 Jets next week in a game that is essentially an elimination bout in the AFC.

The Bills are on a three-game losing streak that featured three pitiful performances by the entire offense. Just as fantasy owners began to get comfortable with starting players from Buffalo, they let us all down.

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been nothing short of awful since signing that fat contract extension less than a month ago. He was 20-39 for 209 yards and two interceptions on Sunday against a soft Miami defense.

It's absolutely killing Jackson as teams stack eight in the box and are leaving him with nothing to work with aside from jumping into the pile. The holes just aren't there.

The result has been pitiful fantasy performances. Seven carries for 17 yards is simply unacceptable for a guy who once upon a time was at the very top of the fantasy leaderboard.

If there's a silver lining for Jackson owners, it's that he caught five passes for 50 yards. As long as Steve Johnson remains banged up, Jackson is going to be getting a decent amount of targets in the passing game.

Jackson is still a great player, the first half of the season wasn't a fluke, but it's his surroundings that are killing him. Without a balanced offense, Jackson has gotten a measly 20 carries the last two weeks.

They are constantly playing from behind thanks in large part to a defense that is quietly one of the worst in the league.

Regardless of how serious Jackson's injury is, his days as a must-start are numbered.

It was a fun ride while it lasted.