Advertisement

Knowshon Moreno suffers ACL tear, placed on season-ending IR

Brutal injury news here, straight from the Miami Dolphins:

So that's terrible. Moreno had just returned from a dislocated elbow that caused him to miss two full games, and all but one carry of another. He's on a one-year deal with Miami, so he'll enter free agency in 2015 as a soon-to-be 28-year-old back with a worrisome injury history.

[Join FanDuel's $500,000 Week 7 fantasy league: $10 to enter; top 10,102 teams paid]

Fantasy-wise, the spin here is simple: Lamar Miller takes over as the unrivaled No. 1 running back for the Dolphins, and we need to view him as a top-12-ish RB, rest of season. Miller has averaged a career-best 5.2 YPC through five games this year, he's found the end-zone four times, and he's on pace for 48 receptions. We should also mention that his bye is already behind him, a plus at this stage of the season.

The only real issue for Miller so far has been ball security (three fumbles lost), but, again, no player on Miami's current roster is likely to challenge his grip on the featured role. Daniel Thomas and Damien Williams are up next on the depth chart; Thomas was inactive on Sunday and Williams played four snaps.

We can't guarantee that Miller will ever see 25 carries in any game — he doesn't have more than 15 in any week this season — but he'll take all the touches he can handle. He's certainly a strong play this week at Chicago, facing a Bears defense that ranks middle-of-the-pack against the run.

Here's hoping for a quick and full recovery for Moreno. He was a season-saver for many of us last year, when he led the Broncos' ground game. Given the timing of his injury, he should have a shot to be fully recovered by opening week 2015, if he can find a team to take a flier.

More advice from Yahoo Fantasy: Who to target on the waiver wire