Chicago Bears RB D’Onta Foreman has been dealing with an ankle issue for the past couple of weeks since getting hurt on Thursday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers. Foreman had been providing for fantasy football managers as the Bears’ lead back when Khalil Herbert was on the IR, but could now be set to miss Week 12.
Let’s take a look at the latest injury update for Foreman, whether he will play in Week 12, and what it means for the fantasy rankings of himself, Herbert, and Roschon Johnson.
Latest Injury Update on D’Onta Foreman
With the Bears playing on Monday Night Football this week, our first injury update on Foreman ahead of Week 12 came on Thursday when he was listed as a projected non-participant with ankle and shin injuries. With Thursday being Thanksgiving, there was not full media availability, and Chicago opened the week with a walkthrough practice. Hence the estimated status as opposed to an actual one.
On Friday, Foreman was upgraded to a limited participant. Additionally, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy will speak with the media today — it will be interesting to see if has anything to add about Foreman’s availability for Week 12. If not, we may have to wait for Saturday when Matt Eberflus is once again made available to the media, which is also when we will get Foreman’s game status.
The interesting element here is that Chicago is on a bye in Week 13 and just welcomed Herbert back from his own ankle injury last week. With Herbert, Johnson, and Travis Homer on the Bears’ roster at the RB position, they may decide that caution is the best way forward with Foreman. The Bears could give the veteran back two weeks rest for the loss of only one game by sitting him this week and then having a bye next week.
Will Foreman Play This Week?
The early projection for Foreman’s Week 12 status suggested he is not playing. Starting the week as a non-participant with an actual injury as opposed to rest tends to result in a player being at best questionable on the final injury report. Getting back on the field Friday at least gives Foreman a shot to be active this week.
Ultimately what we always want as fantasy managers is clarity. The worst-case scenario for a roster is to go into Sunday with questionable players for Monday Night Football. That leaves fantasy managers with tough decisions to make, especially if they do not have viable reserve options also playing on Monday Night Football.
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Unless we get a definitive answer to suggest that Foreman will be fine for Monday, the best way forward for now is to assume he will not be on the field. That means if you have bench options playing in the Black Friday game, you should probably consider playing them over Foreman this week.
What Does This Mean For Foreman’s Fantasy Ranking?
As things stand coming out of Thursday, PFN’s Consensus Fantasy Rankings have Herbert ranked as the RB33, Foreman at RB48 and Johnson at RB50. Those rankings reflect the current uncertainty at the position for Chicago. Last week, we saw a weird timeshare as Herbert was eased back in, but Foreman and Johnson were both involved.
In many ways, it would probably be easier for all if Foreman is inactive this week. If he is unable to suit up, Herbert likely jumps up to around RB25 and Johnson would also likely get a boost up to around the RB40 range. Herbert would be a Flex starting option in 12-team leagues, and Johnson would be a deeper-league, fringe Flex option at those rankings.
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If Foreman is active, then this backfield becomes close to unusable until we get a clearer picture of the priorities. Three running backs splitting work makes all three almost completely big-play or touchdown-dependent. Herbert ended up with 18 touches after Foreman left the game injured, so if the other veteran back is out, his volume projects to be high enough to be a starting option.
Johnson is arguably the most explosive of the three but so far, he has not had the volume to provide consistent fantasy relevancy. He has had 10 opportunities in just four games this season, but that could grow a little this week if Foreman is out.
The rookie would not be my first choice this week, but if you are scrambling, he could do a job of just getting you into that five-to-10-point region in PPR formats.
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