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It's not news that Rashard Mendenhall, who tore his ACL in Week 17, probably won't be ready for the start of the NFL season. But it's telling that the team is already conceding he'll probably miss at least the first six weeks, or nearly half the fantasy season.
"My guess is (he'll) open the season on the PUP," GM Kevin Colbert told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. That would ensure Mendenhall would miss at least the first six weeks of the season, and possibly into Week 9 or 10; teams have three weeks after that time to allow a player to begin practicing.
If Mendenhall does miss that much time, it's unlikely he'd then take on a heavy-duty role when he returns. Best-case scenario is probably a rotation with Isaac Redman, or possibly another back (Jonathan Dwyer is another possibility).
Mendenhall isn't being drafted as a starter, but it does appear he's being selected too early; in the same range as players far more likely to be early-season starters like DeAngelo Williams and Donald Brown. Redman, meanwhile, is being selected too late; not a top-25 running back in most drafts.
In the FanEx draft that Ian Allan is participating in right now, Redman was just the 29th running back selected.
It's certainly possible Mendenhall will avoid the PUP list, which is part of why Redman is being selected so late. But when your own GM is saying in June that missing the first six weeks is a likelihood, it's unwise to bet against it.
--Andy Richardson
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