Instant Analysis: Breshad Perriman Suffers Partially Torn ACL
It hasn’t been a smooth start to Breshad Perriman’s NFL career. He missed his entire rookie season after partially tearing the PCL his right knee on the first day of training camp. Then, news broke on Saturday evening that Perriman had suffered a partially torn ACL, this time in his left knee. The injury supposedly occurred on Thursday when Perriman was chasing down a back shoulder fade and went down without contact, but it wasn’t until Friday when he complained of soreness the team found the real issue.
What does this mean for Perriman’s dynasty value?
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Well, if you have injured reserve in your leagues you simply put him back where you’ve been storing him since you got him. Like a collectible toy, you leave him in the box and maybe buy a protective case for him, both figuratively and literally.
If you don’t have injured reserve I would look to cut ties with him. His value is at an all-time low so timing will be critical if you want to trade him. To be clear, I wouldn’t cut him unless I absolutely needed the roster spot. Right now you have to wait for the MRI results and find out the exact extent of the injury, but his 2016 is shot regardless. Your best bet may to be to move him in-season for an aging veteran if you find yourself in a position to contend. They say year three is the breakout year for wide receivers, but I don’t know if that counts for players who can’t find the field in their first two seasons.
Who benefits the most in Baltimore?
The top three wide receivers in Baltimore are now Steve Smith, Kamar Aiken and Mike Wallace. Steve Smith is 37 years old and coming off of an Achilles injury, Aiken is coming off of a breakout season of sorts and Wallace signed as a free agent looking to get his career back on track. The injury most likely benefits Wallace the most. I don’t believe Steve Smith will be able to return to pre-injury form at his age, especially after rupturing his Achilles in week eight of last season. It was Smith’s injury which lit a fire under Aiken. Looking at the game splits below, when Smith was on the field he was on pace for 48 receptions, 583 yards and five touchdowns. Without Smith in the lineup his full season projections jumped all the way to 96 receptions, 1,225 yards and five touchdowns with double the targets. He didn’t really perform any better, he just saw a higher volume of targets and delivered when called upon.
The wild card in this is Mike Wallace. After seasons in Miami with Ryan Tannehill and Minnesota with Teddy Bridgewater, quarterbacks whose weakness is the deep ball, he made it a point to sign with a team who had a quarterback in place who knows how to maximize his talents. Not since his days in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger has he had a quarterback with the arm of Joe Flacco. Wallace has always been a bit of a one trick pony, but it’s a pretty good trick when it works. He’s the player whose skill set fills most of the voids left by Perriman’s injury and changes his role from situational deep threat to a weekly contributor.
Other benefactors should be Ben Watson who also signed as a free agent this off-season after a phoenix-like rebirth in New Orleans last year. Dennis Pitta, if he can recover from his hip injury, may be able to find a role on this offense in two tight end sets, but counting on him isn’t recommended. Also, the stable of running backs led by Justin Forsett, Buck Allen and H-back Kyle Juszczyk who caught 41 balls for 321 yards and four scores in 2015 will continue to play a key role.
Having said all of that, it ultimately depends on the health of Joe Flacco as he comes off of a left ACL and MCL injury of his own. The injury occurred on November 22nd and he’ll miss all of OTAs and minicamp but is expected to be ready for week one. Even without the injury to Perriman, this offense may have struggled out of the gate regardless.
Follow me on Twitter @OlingerIDP.
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