Royce Freeman Injury Updates | Shark Bites

Rams RB Kyren Williams returned from IR in Week 12. You might say he did so with a bang. Handling 16 carries, the Notre Dame product tallied 143 yards – the second-highest mark of his career. He added a 6-61-2 receiving line on an 18.1% target share. A positive matchup with Arizona helped. But it’s clear Williams is back near 100% coming off an ankle injury. Also note: Royce Freeman mixed in for 13 carries, 77 yards, and 1 score. So Williams doesn’t look like a true workhorse as we advance. The next two weeks turn up difficult matchups vs. Cleveland and Baltimore.

Rams HC Sean McVay says he expects RB Kyren Williams (ankle) to be ready when he's eligible to return from IR, according to multiple reports. Williams has missed three games, so he'll remain out at least through Week 11 -- on the other side of the team's bye. But we should have him back for fantasy lineups from Week 12 on. Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman have combined to take over the backfield in Williams' absence. We'd guess some version of that duo will hold on to a little more work after Williams' return than any other Rams RB had before he went down. That's not because they've outplayed Williams, but rather because few RBs dominate backfield touches the way Williams was pre-injury. That said, we'll certainly assume a controlling share for Williams upon return until/unless the team shows otherwise.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Rams RBs Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson are expected to lead the backfield vs. the Steelers today. Those two will get "the majority of the workload," a source tells Schefter, while rookie RB Zach Evans serves as the No. 3 RB. RB Myles Gaskin will be inactive today, per Schefter, but is expected to play next week. This backfield will continue to evolve while RB Kyren Williams recovers from his ankle injury. And Schefter adds that no Rams RB will "dominate the workload the way Williams did before he suffered a high ankle sprain ... and that might be the case even once Williams returns as the team aims to preserve his longevity." For Week 7, Freeman and Henderson are just desperation fantasy plays in what figures to be a pass-heavy game plan from Los Angeles. Evans is not useable.

The Rams placed RB Kyren Williams on IR with his ankle injury, knocking him out for the next four games. Los Angeles has a Week 10 bye, so we won't see Williams until Week 12 at the earliest. He's worth keeping stashed in the vast majority of fantasy leagues considering how productive he was before going down. We'll get our first look at the Rams' Williams-less backfield in tomorrow's game vs. the Steelers.

The Rams believe RB Ronnie Rivers has a PCL sprain that "could keep him out a few weeks," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's particularly noteworthy with RB Kyren Williams dealing with an ankle injury. Rookie Zach Evans is the only healthy RB on the Rams' active roster. RB Royce Freeman is on the practice squad.

Update: Rivers has a Grade 3 PCL sprain and is expected to miss 4-5 weeks, according to Rapoport. Rivers figures to land on short-term IR.

The Texans placed RB Dameon Pierce on IR with his ankle injury, ending his 2022 season. Pierce had an impressive rookie season, running for 939 yards on 4.3 yards per carry in a bad Houston offense. He currently ranks 8th in Pro Football Focus rushing grade and 3rd in Elusive Rating among 39 RBs with 100+ carries. It's enough to make Pierce the favorite to lead this backfield in 2023, but we'll see what the Texans do at the position this offseason. The Texans promoted RB Royce Freeman from the practice squad on Saturday. He joins Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale in the backfield for Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey suffered a hamstring injury in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Texans and was quickly ruled out. That suggests a relatively serious injury. We'll update McCaffrey's status as soon as we learn more. RB Chuba Hubbard looks like the next man up for Carolina. RB Royce Freeman is also on the roster.