The RB position has been especially stressful to deal with this fantasy football season. Fantasy managers and their heartstrings have been toyed with, as with several RBs; as soon as they started to make a positive impact in lineups, they went down with an injury.
Can we expect Rhamondre Stevenson, AJ Dillon, and Alexander Mattison to bounce back and make it onto the field in Week 16?
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
The Rhamondre Stevenson experience has been like a roller coaster for fantasy managers this season — just as he was delivering, he came tumbling down. Before Week 13, when he went down to injury, Stevenson finished as RB21 or better in five of the last six weeks.
In the Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, Stevenson suffered a high ankle sprain, and there has been chatter about whether he will return at all this season. Soon after the injury, a report from Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi discussed the RB’s status.
“First, I can confirm per team sources that Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a high ankle sprain. That injury typically takes three weeks or so to recover. There’s already chatter that the Pats should shut him down for the rest of the season. Someone close to Stevenson told me, ‘If he can find a way to be out there, he will. He won’t let his brothers down. That’s not who he is.’”
Stevenson has now sat out Week 14 and Week 15, and he looks to miss this week’s matchup against Denver if he cannot log any time on the practice field. He has yet to practice since the injury.
Ezekiel Elliott has been fantastic in his stead, finishing Week 14 as the RB1 on the week. In the two games without Stevenson, Elliot has played 91% and 87% of the snaps, and he will continue to be the guy as long as Stevenson missed time.
AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers RB AJ Dillon has spent the majority of the year filling in for Aaron Jones, who has been battling various injuries. Jones has missed six weeks this season, with Dillon stepping up in his stead each time. On Sunday, the tables were turned — Jones finally returned to the field, and Dillon was sidelined.
Dillon suffered a broken thumb during the Packers Week 14 loss to the Giants. “I got hit – just routine play,” Dillon told the media after the game. “Football, that’s how it goes. Got hit with a helmet lined up the right way. And then we called another run play after that.”
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He was limited in Friday practice leading up to Week 15, and it was announced on Sunday that he was inactive.
If Dillon continues to sit, the backfield will once again belong to Jones as this young Green Bay team continues their unlikely playoff push. The Packers take on Carolina in Week 16.
Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison has been solid this season but far from flashy, and his current standing of RB34 is far from where fantasy managers expected him to finish on the season. As of late, injury has impacted this.
Mattison went down with a sprained ankle during the game against Las Vegas in Week 14. He only played 32% of the snaps and finished as RB38.
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The severity of the injury is still unclear, but it was enough to hold Mattison out of the Week 15 matchup against the Bengals on Saturday.
Ty Chandler was enlisted to run the backfield and delivered in Mattison’s absence. He was Minnesota’s first 100-yard rusher of the season, running for 132 yards. He was also used in the passing game with three receptions for 25 yards.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell had some wonderful things to say about Chandler after the game, and it is clear that if Mattison misses more time, the Vikings are content pushing their chips in with Chandler.
“I thought Ty had a huge role and impact on the game, and we’ve been giving Ty more and more carries throughout the middle part of the season, especially going back to losing Cam Akers for the duration of the year. Ty is absolutely a guy that is going to continue to see a feature role in our offense.”
When asked about Mattison’s status, O’Connell said, “Mattison is going to continue progressing. He has been getting treatment around the clock to see if he can work himself to be available this week. Alex is going to try to work himself back this week. We will see how he does throughout the week.”
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