Kansas City Chiefs running back Spencer Ware tore his PCL, ending his season before it could even start.
Preseason injuries in the NFL are brutal, but they happen every and at random. Julian Edelman tore his ACL, removing one of Tom Brady’s top targets from his arsenal. While not on that same level, the Chiefs can’t feel good about news that starting running back Spencer Ware has a torn PCL and is likely to miss the entire season.
Kansas City is reportedly weighing options, but surgery is likely needed. Such a thing would end Ware’s season before it could even start.
There’s a few angles to this that need to be discussed, the first of which is what the Chiefs will do without their starting running back.
Luckily for Andy Reid, Kansas City has some depth at running back. Ware made a name for himself last year running as part of a platoon when Jamaal Charles went down. His running mate in that backfield was Charcandrick West — now the the main main. In almost an identical situation, the Chiefs will slide West up to fill Ware’s shoes and likely move rookie Kareem Hunt up to fill the gap.
It’s about as ‘next man up’ as it gets.
Hunt was regarded by many to be a high second-tier running back in this year’s draft class, and with Ware going down he’ll have plenty of chances to earn his stripes.
That leads to the next question: What do do in fantasy football.
Both West and Hunt get big boosts in fantasy value with Ware now out of the equation. West should get a bulk of the work, but this would be the time to try and snag Hunt as a rookie sleeper. He already had that title despite being the third man on the death chart, and now he’s moving up.
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Nothing is ever promised when it comes to Chiefs running backs, but a safe fantasy bet would be to not reach for West and keep tabs on Hunt as a sleeper. Neither should be RB1 options for you, but as the mid-to-late rounds approach, both should be on your radar equally.
As far Ware, there’s no indication that he for sure won’t come back in 2017. But the Chiefs are going to be cautious about his health, and with at least three other running backs on roster ready to step up, there’s no need to do anything foolish.