Martell Mallett tears his Achilles tendon, sparking a RB dilemma in Hamilton

We haven't even made it to the preseason yet, but the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' fortunes may have already taken a significant turn for the worse. As Drew Edwards reports, key offseason acquisition Martell Mallett tore his Achilles tendon in practice and will be gone for the season. That leaves the Tiger-Cats with a massive void to fill at running back, and not a lot of easy answers. There wasn't a lot of experience behind Mallett heading into training camp, as Avon Cobourne was cut following the Mallett signing and promising up-and-comer Terry Grant will miss much of this year thanks to breaking three bones in a game last year. It's possible the Tiger-Cats could bring Cobourne back (the belief in this corner was that they shouldn't have cut him) or sign former Calgary RB Joffrey Reynolds, but they won't necessarily be able to land either, and neither would be a sure producer. They could also gamble on using a rookie, but that carries risks as well as potential rewards. This isn't necessarily something that will doom the Tiger-Cats, but it's certainly going to make their lives more difficult.

When Mallett returned from the NFL this offseason, there was a lot of hype around him, and justifiably so. His CFL sample size was limited to just a single season with B.C. in 2009, but that season saw him excel, picking up 1,240 rushing yards and six touchdowns (with a 5.8 yards per carry average), 342 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, a West All-Star nod and the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award. Mallett's bounced around the NFL since then and hasn't seen many carries, so it wasn't a sure thing that he'd be able to repeat that dominance, but his previous CFL success made him look like a high-upside acquisition. Now, with this injury, Hamilton's running back position has gone from a potential area of strength to a substantial question mark.

Cobourne would be one obvious choice to replace Mallett, but it's unclear if he would; being cut by the team has to bug him a bit, and as Dave Naylor points out, he's landed a good job in the U.S. that he might not want to leave. Cobourne would also have to quickly adapt to a new coach, a new quarterback and a new system. Moreover, he averaged a career-low 4.8 yards per rush last season and is 33, so he's no guarantee either. Reynolds carries similar questions; although he's worked with George Cortez and Henry Burris in Calgary and could probably slot into the new system easily, his per-carry-average dropped to 4.7 yards with the Stampeders last season, and he's 32. He's a potential option for the Tiger-Cats, certainly, but that doesn't mean he'll succeed in Hamilton.

The best option for the Tiger-Cats might actually be proceeding without an established CFL running back. Rookie Chevon Walker has looked good in camp, they have former CIS star Daryl Stephenson on the roster and there are always plenty of talented American running backs out there who didn't manage to catch on with the NFL after college. Adjusting to the CFL game, the larger usage of the single-back system and the greater blocking and pass-catching demands placed on RBs north of the border does take time, and there's no guarantee that Walker or anyone else could catch on right away, but Reynolds and Cobourne aren't sure things either at this stage of their careers. It might be worth the Tiger-Cats' while to gamble on rookies with high ceilings rather than pick up guys who have been there before, but might not be able to still get it done. Either approach is still less ideal than having Mallett healthy would have been, though.