More bad news for the defending Super Bowl champions as it appears as though starting running back Leonard Fournette will be out for the remainder of the regular season with a hamstring injury. Fournette suffered the injury Sunday night in Tampa Bay’s disaster against New Orleans. Not only were they blanked 9-0, but they also lost Chris Godwin for the year to a torn ACL, and WR Mike Evans to a hamstring injury of his own.
Rumours are currently swirling that Fournette could be placed on injured reserve, however the team has yet to make any official moves on that front. The Bucs are optimistic that they’ll get “Playoff Lenny” back for the postseason, however that didn’t stop them from signing veteran RB Le’Veon Bell as an insurance policy.
Bell largely underwhelmed in the Baltimore Ravens backfield, with the team opting to run with Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman over the former Pro Bowler. Ronald Jones took over lead running back duties for the Bucs after Fournette went down this weekend and posted 63 yards on 8 carries.
Rojo has the ability to handle a full workload and will likely see a workhorse snap count against the Panthers and Jets to close out the season. While Bell can be picked up as a “break in case of emergency” waiver wire add for those with Rojo on their rosters, he’s unlikely to have any kind of stand alone fantasy value down the stretch even in the deepest of leagues.
The update clears the waters on two of the three injuries the Bucs suffered in Week 15. The team has yet to provide any kind of update on wideout Mike Evans, making his status for Week 16 unclear. Expect Antonio Brown to take on a larger role for Tampa Bay following his 3 game suspension, with Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson vying for targets in Godwin’s absence.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner