We've seen some big fantasy injuries this year, but the "foot" injury Maurice Jones-Drew suffered against the Raiders could rank as the highest this year. MJD ran for a mere 6 yards on 2 carries against the Raiders. It originally appeared that he tweaked something as trainers looked at him on the sidelines. But once the team brought the cart to take him to the locker room, it was inevitable that something big went down. Seeing MJD on the sidelines in crutches didn't help either. But we had hope that the injury wasn't going to be THAT serious.
Once MJD was ruled out for Week 8's stint against the Packers on Monday, it appears our worst fears may come true. Beat writer John Oehser broke the news via Twitter and also said MJD will likely be sidelined an "extended period." Just how long that is remains to be seen. The team has been pretty tight lipped on the injury. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, head coach Mike Mularkey said the Jags have not ruled out the possibility that MJD has a Lisfranc injury. If MJD does, forget about his chances of coming back in time to close out the season. Not with almost half the season over with.
Until we hear more, it appears the backfield will belong to preseason fantasy football darling Rashad Jennings. Jennings wasn't spectacular on the field in relief Sunday. But in standard PPR leagues, his 23.2 fantasy points would have ranked up there with some of the elite RB1 options. His rushing and pass-catching ability will make him the No. 1 priority in all scoring leagues. Especially with the problems we owners have faced with guys like Steven Jackson and Darren McFadden.
As for the Jaguars' upcoming schedule, there are still some hills to climb. The Packers are the middle of the road against fantasy backs. Week 9's contest against the Lions won't be easy, but Jennings should run all over the Colts in Week 10. Whether Jennings will still start past these 3 games is up in the air. But if you have him, or get him off waivers this, play him as his fantasy value will be the highest we have seen from him in years.
MJD was only averaging 69 rushing yards a game this year, so Jennings really isn't that much of a downgrade. Just keep in the back of your mind that this is still the Jaguars, who have one of the worst passing attacks in the league. Defenses have been and will be gunning for the run.