Matt Forte Injury: Bears RB Marion Barber Will Be Fantasy Owners' Saving Grace

Of all the bad things that you could have predicted for the Chicago Bears, and some fantasy owners, this week, the worst of the worst would be Matt Forte suffering a serious injury that puts his season in serious jeopardy. The good news, for those that want to see it, is Marion Barber has had a decent year. 

Going back to Forte for a moment, he was hit in the right knee by the helmet of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson. He was able to get off the field on his own, albeit with a noticeable limp, so the training staff could examine him. 

It was not too much longer when the team announced that Forte was done for the game and was taken to the locker room to have tests done. 

According to sports injury expert Will Carroll, the trainers were testing Forte's ACL. Right now, things look dire for Forte. 

Now, at the risk of sounding cold and heartless, fantasy owners need to prepare for the worst with Forte. Barber is not Forte, no one would ever expect him to do the kinds of things that he did, but that does not mean that he can't be a major player for the rest of the season, if need be. 

Barber actually had more rushing touchdowns (five) this season than Forte (three), but he does not possess the all-around package that Forte did. He is going to be a running back, nothing more, nothing less. He won't catch passes out of the backfield, so that element is gone. 

But for an emergency fill-in at running back, you could do a lot worse than Barber. He had a terrific game against Oakland last week with 63 yards on 10 carries, so there is still some gas left in the tank. 

Don't freak out over Forte's injury. Just deal with it by adding Barber to your team and hope that Forte will be back before the end of the season.