It's like the curse of Madden in fantasy form. Earlier this week I pegged the Cleveland Browns rookie running back, Montario Hardesty as something of a sleeper pick heading into camp and he's already gotten himself hurt.
Hardesty, a second-round pick is competing with Jerome Harrison for the Brown's starting tailback job. Now he's off to a slow start, not practicing Saturday morning as the Browns opened training camp.
Hardesty twisted his knee during rookie practices earlier in the week and will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks.
“He twisted his knee in a drill the other day,” coach Eric Mangini said. “We probably won’t see him for a couple weeks. We’re taking it slow and being conservative. We’ll see where he is at that point.”
Hardesty’s college career at Tennessee was slowed by a series of injuries. He had knee surgery at Tennessee, but Mangini said this setback isn’t related.
“It’s nothing that is a pre-existing type situation,” Mangini said.
From a fantasy perspective this won't change Hardesty's value unless the injury is worse than described. In fact this news may make him more of a sleeper, as owners avoid drafting him.
