Just three days ago, we listed Indianapolis Colts running back Vick Ballard as a player you should be looking to grab on the waiver wire this week in fantasy leagues. He had twice as many carries as Ahmad Bradshaw in Indy’s Week 1 win over the Oakland Raiders and looked like the better runner. Things change quickly.
Ballard suffered a knee injury during practice on Thursday and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That will thrust Donald Brown back into the primary backup role and likely mean Bradshaw will be leaned on to take the bulk of the carries.
The obvious question is can Bradshaw handle the extra work. The former New York Giant can be explosive when healthy, but he has battled foot problems throughout most of his career. Bradshaw had another procedure on his foot over the offseason that forced him to miss most of training camp, which helps explain why he received only seven carries in the regular season opener.
The Colts will likely be reluctant to increase Bradshaw’s workload from seven to 25 in the span of a week. However, he should make for a high-end flex option and even an RB2 the rest of the way if he can remain healthy. Indianapolis has obviously lost faith in Brown, as evidenced by their decision to sign Bradshaw and bury the former UConn star on the depth chart. If nothing else, the Colts should be taking much less of a committee approach going forward.
