C.J. Anderson's injury means more carries for Broncos' Devontae Booker
Broncos running back C.J. Anderson has been placed on injured reserve and is out for the season, the Broncos announced Friday.
Anderson has a torn meniscus and will have surgery, 9News reports. He sustained an injury to his knee during Monday night's game against the Houston Texans. Though Anderson suffered the injury in the first quarter of Monday's game, he actually returned to action and finished with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown in Denver's 27–9 victory.
Anderson initially tweeted that a report from Ian Rapoport that he was out for the season was "false," but he later backtracked and deleted the tweet.
Denver has leaned on the run so far this season, and with second–year quarterback Trevor Siemian under center, the Broncos will likely continue running the ball. Anderson is the team's leading rusher with 437 yards and four touchdowns so far this season, but Devontae Booker has also contributed, totaling 244 yards and one touchdown on 51 carries this year.
Here's SI fantasy expert Michael Beller's take:
C.J. Anderson may dispute that sources close to him told Ian Rapoport that the running back would go on IR when the reporter said he did, but the substance of the message, as it pertains to the fantasy football world, turned out to be true. Anderson tore his meniscus against the Texans last week. The 25-year-old will have surgery and is headed to IR. The door is now wide open for rookie Devontae Booker to step through and become this year's second-half breakout who swings fantasy championships, a mantle Anderson himself carried proudly in 2014.
Booker was already trending in the right direction, in terms of both workload and production. He caught the eye of most in the fantasy community in Week 5 when he nearly split snaps evenly with Anderson. totaling 59 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches. His role has grown with each passing week, and he surged into the consciousness of all fantasy owners with his 17-carry, 83-yard, 1-touchdown effort against the Texans last week. The rookie out of Utah is now entrenched as the starter in Denver and projects as an RB1 the rest of the season. After getting the Chargers this week, the Broncos play the Raiders, Saints, Chiefs and Jaguars to wrap up the fantasy season. Two of those teams, the Saints and Raiders, are in the top 10 in fantasy points allowed per game to running backs, while the Chiefs rank 15th and the Jaguars slot 19th. If he's somehow still available in your league, get him now. If you already own him, get ready to reap the rewards. For those of you in deep leagues, Kapri Bibbs is Booker's likely backup.
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The Broncos rush offense ranks 16th in the NFL this season with 111.6 yards per game.
Denver (5–2) will host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.
