In a primetime game that just about nobody cared about, the Miami Dolphins took on the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. In a way, it was more entertaining than we originally thought it would be as the tides shifted a couple of times with double-digit runs by both teams.
One of the biggest story lines to come out of this one, though, was not good for fantasy owners. Bucs running back Mike James was injured on the very first drive of the game for Tampa Bay. James was helped off the field after a defender landed on his ankle. He was then taken off the sideline and into the locker room on a cart.
The injury did not appear to be minor at first, but the first sideline report noted that he might wind up coming back into the game — which was a surprise. A few minutes later, it was reported that James was indeed out for the game.
His replacement, Brian Leonard, played quite decent in being put on the spot and having to jump into the primary running back role. Leonard is a seven year veteran of the game and if James is out for any extended period of time, he’ll get the bulk of the carries.
In any leagues where James was now a starter on your team, Leonard would be a guy to watch and potentially add to your roster. The Bucs don’t have a lot of legitimate offensive weapons to begin with, but one thing we do know is that Tampa Bay cannot simply abandon the run game. That would put immense pressure on rookie quarterback Mike Glennon.
If you were victim of James’ injury, watch Leonard until a concrete diagnosis has been given on the extent of Jame’s injury. He will be given plenty of touches as the feature back, and very well could be worth an add.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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