Lamar Miller Injury Update: Should you play him in fantasy tonight?

Were you or someone you love personally impacted by a recent Hail Murray in Week 10 or a run that went out of bounds one yard short of the end zone? If so, might I offer you some much needed Monday Night Football relief in a 5’10” tall cold glass of Lamar Miller Lite, who is playing tonight and might be able to create your own miracle? Should you put any trust into Lamar Miller in fantasy football tonight against the Minnesota Vikings, or will this only leave a sour taste in your mouth?

The Bears added RB Lamar Miller from the practice squad for MNF

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports that the Chicago Bears will elevate the running back from the practice squad for Monday’s game versus the Minnesota Vikings. Miller has spent over a month on the team’s practice squad. Due to RB David Montgomery being ruled out with a concussion, the organization decided they needed the additional help at the position. Monday night will be the first time Lamar Miller has played since the 2019 preseason.

Miller tore his ACL in the Texans’ third preseason game of 2019, missing the entire season. Houston released him this past March. The 29-year-old spent time with the New England Patriots in August but was released before the season. The Bears signed him to the practice squad in early October.

Related | Fantasy RB Injury Report Week 11: Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon, Chris Carson, more

Miller was drafted in the fourth round (97th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, and the seven-year veteran made the Pro Bowl during his most recent season in 2018, where he piled up over 1,100 all-purpose yards along with six touchdowns.

He’ll join Ryan Nall, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Artavis Pierce as options out of Chicago’s backfield.

The Chicago Bears have struggled to run the ball all season, regardless of who is seeing the carries

The Bears run-game has been dreadful this season behind an offensive line that has struggled to create holes.

The Bears sit dead last in the NFL in rushing attempts (200), yards (741), and rushing touchdowns (2). They are also 31st in the league in rushing average with a lowly 3.6 per attempt. Along with being 32nd in rushing first downs with 42 on the season, it is safe to say that it has been a struggle regardless of who has carried the ball.

Montgomery has carried the ball 131 times for 472 yards and just one rushing touchdown through nine games this season. He’s averaging 3.6 yards per carry, which ranks 44th among 47 qualifying running backs, per ESPN.

Cordarrelle Patterson is the only running back of note on the roster that could compete for touches with Lamar Miller. Patterson has carried the ball 29 times for 88 yards, being used as more of a gadget player than anything else.

The one positive is that the Vikings have not been giving running backs a hard time in fantasy this year. They give up the 22nd-most fantasy points to opposing running backs (24.80) per game, along with five rushing touchdowns. They have been fantastic at stopping any receiving work to teams running backs this year, allowing 322 yards but have not given up a receiving touchdown yet through eight games.

Should you trust Lamar Miller in fantasy tonight?

If you need a miracle, why not? It’s hard to see the team running out Ryan Nall all game, and Cordarrelle Patterson is more of a big-bodied receiver than he is a running back. Patterson did carry the ball 21 times over a two-week stretch with the Patriots back in 2018, but he’s otherwise seen more than six carries one other time in his career.

“When he was playing at his highest level, he was one of the best running backs in the NFL,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy said about Miller this week. “There’s an excitement of the possibility of him being able to fill a role for us. I do love those stories.”

Even though he has relinquished his play-calling duties, having the head coach be excited to see a player has to mean something heading into the game. 

It is hard to see Lamar Miller be more than an RB3 even if he is playing and will see a decent workload. We don’t know how many carries he will see because we haven’t seen him on the field. Miller was a running back who was able to use his speed, but is that still there? It is something we won’t have an answer to until the game is over. However, given the lack of other options available in this game, taking a shot on Lamar Miller in fantasy might be the best option you can make.

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Tommy Garrett is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can read more of his work here and follow him at @TommygarrettPFN on Twitter.