Torain put on IR

Ryan Torain, a rookie 5th-round draft pick, was put on IR by the Broncos today after tearing his ACL Thursday night against the Browns.

This leaves the Denver running back situation in a sad state, as Michael Pittman (IR- neck), Selvin Young (nagging groin injury), Travis Henry (released in the offseason), and Andre Hall (IR- hand. Maybe that's why he kept fumbling in New England?) are all currently unavailable.

Basically, 2008 Denver running backs are the AFC equivalent of 2008 Seattle receivers. Luckily running backs are somewhat easier to replace, and the main challenge associated with the position is learning the team's pass blocking schemes.

One possible replacement is Peyton Hillis, the fullback who had a huge game against the Dolphins and has a very real chance of being the best player named Peyton by the time the year finishes should he win the starting job. The more likely scenario is that Denver signs someone off the street. Former Bronco Tatum Bell is available after being cut by the Lions (he should consider himself lucky), as are former Broncos Mike Bell and Vernand Morency (who spent 2007 on the Packers).

Fantasy-wise, this is the merciful end to probably the most overhyped rookie in recent memory. He was owned in something like 70% of leagues despite being on the PUP list for the first 6 weeks, then kept off the field for the next two. People, realize that Denver is simply not a good team this year no matter who their running back is. Since they have no defense Denver is going to play from behind late in games a lot for the remainder of the season, which means Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, and Eddie Royal are the fantasy-relevant Broncos. I'm sure that those owners who stubbornly refused to give up hope could have found SOMEONE to fill that bench spot even for the first couple of weeks if they wanted to pick him back up in week 5 or 6 before people started caring again.