Fantasy Impact on Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson

Injuries continue to wreak havoc on fantasy football lineups. With just three weeks left in the fantasy regular season, managers need their players on the field.

Chicago Bears RB D’Onta Foreman left last week’s game early with an ankle injury. What is the latest on his status for Week 12, and how does it impact the fantasy football values of Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson?

Latest Injury Update on D’Onta Foreman

Last week, Foreman left the game in the first half with an ankle injury. He first hurt the ankle the week prior but was able to return to the game. Evidently, he aggravated the injury to the point where he was unable to continue.

Foreman’s inability to return did not bode well for his chances to play this week. And things got off to a rough start when he didn’t practice on Thursday. Foreman did return to a limited session on Friday, but according to Sean Hammond, Foreman left practice early with a trainer.

MORE: Fantasy News Tracker

Foreman was able to get in a limited practice on Saturday, but the Bears listed him as doubtful. It’s always frustrating when a player draws a doubtful tag, as that prevents fantasy managers from being able to put him on IR. I guess it’s better than questionable, though, because at least fantasy managers don’t need to hold out hope that Foreman will play.

I cannot remember the last time a player played through a doubtful tag. I’m pretty sure Terrell Owens did it once — to give you an idea of the last time it might have happened. I can’t say Foreman is 100 percent out until he is officially ruled out, but fantasy managers should operate as if he is.

Fantasy Impact on Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson?

After Foreman left the game last week, Herbert was back in the lead-back role he occupied prior to getting hurt himself. He played 43% of the snaps, with Johnson at 33%.

This week, the Bears are likely to use a pure two-man rotation. They had previously incorporated some Darrynton Evans, but he is now on the Dolphins. A 70-30 split between Herbert and Johnson, with the rookie operating mostly on passing downs, seems most likely.

Herbert was quite ineffective against the Lions’ stout run defense last week, carrying the ball 16 times for an abysmal 35 yards. Unfortunately, things aren’t likely to get much better against an equally imposing Vikings run defense that allows 3.8 yards per carry and 72 yards per game to running backs.

Herbert is still worth starting, if necessary, due to volume alone. Plus, if either of these backs is going to find the end zone, it will probably be Herbert. I wouldn’t bank on the Bears scoring a ton of points, and Justin Fields is liable to take short-yardage opportunities anyway, but Herbert does carry more upside than Johnson.

Herbert remains inside the top 36 running backs in our PFN Consensus Rankings. I have him personally at RB31 on the week. Johnson is a desperation RB4 — one fantasy managers should not need with no teams on bye this week.

Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!