Seattle Seahawks undrafted rookie running back Thomas Rawls saw his season end prematurely Sunday. Rawls suffered a fractured ankle in the Seahawks' 35-6 win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday, and the team announced it was a season-ending injury.
Thomas Rawls fractures ankle; rookie season over for Seahawks, fantasy owners
The rookie was having a huge late-season before the injury. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Rawls had 44 rushing yards on six carries Sunday before the injury. His rookie season ends with 830 rushing yards, 76 receiving yards and five total touchdowns as a backup (and later replacement) for incumbent starter Marshawn Lynch. Rawls averaged 5.6 yards per carry for the season. In his absence Sunday, DuJuan Harris had 42 rushing yards on 18 carries, Fred Jackson had 15 on seven, and Derrick Coleman had one 19-yard carry.
Fantasy impact: First off, it seems clear Lynch has at least one more week before he can make it back from his abdomen issue, so that ends that conversation. With Rawls now shelved for the year, the team will have to turn to Harris and Jackson, with Harris likely getting the lion's share of carries and Jackson coming in on passing downs. The team has also added and waived Bryce Brown multiple times in recent weeks, so don't be surprised if he makes an appearance on the roster again as the Seahawks hope Lynch comes back strong, perhaps as early as Week 16.
For Rawls, the injury makes his 2016 interesting. There had been rumblings that the Seahawks might let Lynch move on in the offseason, having found some success with the much cheaper Rawls. That remains a possibility, but the team will likely want to see some quick recovery from Rawls to make such a big move. Either way, the rookie can safely be dropped in all redraft leagues.
