As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, injuries to the running back position are once again creating headaches for fantasy football managers. With key players either questionable, doubtful, or ruled out, what does that mean for decisions that need to be made in terms of fantasy lineups this week?
Let’s take a look at the latest injury updates for both Kyren Williams and Dameon Pierce and how they are impacting the decision-making process for the RB position in Week 12.
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Fantasy football managers who have been without the services of their waiver wire hero for the last month of the season got some fantastic news on Williams’ potential return to the field in Week 12.
According to a recent report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Los Angeles Rams officially designated Williams to return to practice today, and he’s expected to play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. This instantly puts Williams right back into the low-end RB1 conversation on a weekly basis.
The last time we saw Williams on the football field was ironically against the Cardinals back in Week 6, where he finished the game with a career-high 158 rushing yards and a score. Through the first six weeks of the season, he was the RB4 in PPR formats with 561 total yards and seven scores with an average of 18 touches per game.
That type of weekly volume made Williams one of the very few reliable bell-cow backs in the league through the first month of the season. Assuming he returns to the field in Week 12, he’ll be ranked just inside my top 10 running backs against Arizona.
Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans
Fantasy shareholders of Pierce should be increasingly concerned about what type of role he may see once he returns to the field for the Houston Texans. Pierce was the leading man in the backfield through the first eight games of the season, but with Devin Singletary posting back-to-back games with over 100 yards rushing, his leading role could be in jeopardy.
The good news is that Pierce was able to practice in a limited fashion in last week’s final practice. And according to a recent report from Aaron Wilson, Pierce was back on the practice field on Wednesday.
At this time, the team has not released his official participation in practice for Wednesday, but his presence on the field to start the week is certainly a good sign.
Pierce’s lingering ankle injury has already cost him three games of the 2023 season and could cost him his leading role if Singletary continues to play at the level we’ve seen over the last two games.
MORE: Fantasy Football RB Week 12 Trade Targets
Now, do I think Singletary has done enough to make Pierce a complete non-factor if he returns in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars? No, I don’t. However, the concerns about his usage once he returns are certainly valid. That now has to be the concern for fantasy managers with Pierce.
It feels far more likely that this backfield becomes a fantasy football headache if the Texans take a running-back-by-committee approach for the remainder of the year. This type of scenario would likely knock both men out of the top 30 at the RB position on a weekly basis.
In terms of Week 12, Pierce would be an RB3 heading into their game against Jacksonville on Sunday. Pierce registered 59 total yards and a score on 17 touches against the Jags back in Week 3.
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