Many of my readers have been closely monitoring the status of Ryan Torain, who suffered an undisclosed knee injury in last night's NFL game between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns.
In the first half, Torain amassed 68 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown. He was looking like the feature back we expected to see. Unfortunately, he went down yet again with an injury, this time one that will sideline him for the rest of the season: a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
First of all, what is a torn ACL? Allow me to consult with my good friends over at Conquest Chronicles, who feature injury reports on common sports ailments.
The very in-depth article can be seen here, and it will enlighten you to the seriousness of the issue that Torain is now facing.
Torain was the "it" running back for the remainder of the 2008 NFL season. He was going to lead your fantasy team from mediocrity to greatness, just like Ryan Grant did in 2007. This fantasy is not to be, unfortunately. Not after this horrible piece of news.
With Ryan Torain out of the picture, Denver is down to an ailing Selvin Young and their rookie fullback, Peyton Hillis. Despite looking good last night, I am not sure that Hillis is either a fantasy or Bronco savior, and I fully expect the Broncos to pick up a running back in the high risk, high reward mold (Edgerrin James, anyone? It is a matter of time before he is cut by the Cardinals, in my opinion).