The litany of injuries the Detroit Lions have dealt with over the last eight weeks is getting hard to comprehend. During Sunday's loss to the Buffalo, four players suffered what looks to be season-ending injuries as a practical matter.
Of course the headliner from a fantasy football perspective is running back David Montgomery. Regardless of how severe his MCL injury is, his real-life regular season is likely over and he's out for the balance of the fantasy season with two weeks left in many leagues.
Update, 3:15 p.m. ET: Head coach Dan Campbell told reporters Montgomery will have season-ending knee surgery.
Montgomery is having a nice season (775 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns), with an extra element as a pass catcher he did not have last season (36 receptions for 341 yards). With two games left in Week 15, as much as it probably won't change things, he is no worse than RB13 regardless of fantasy scoring format.
At this point in the season, now looking toward Week 16, a big chunk of fantasy managers are eliminated from championship contention for this year and disengaged. A fair amount of them surely had Montgomery on their roster.
But there are plenty of Montgomery fantasy managers who still have something to play for, be it a championship, a consolation bracket or simply an effort to not finish last in their league.
So for those Montgomery fantasy managers who are still engaged, here are some waiver wire options to replace him.
5 fantasy football waiver wire replacements for Lions RB David Montgomery
5. Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
Production was not there for Vidal in Week 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (three carries for nine yards, two catches for 13 yards). But the snap share in the Chargers' backfield moved toward him dramatically, with 35 snaps (67 percent snap share) to just 14 for Gus Edwards (27 percent snap share)
Some of that could be pinned on the game script in what was a 40-17 loss. But as noted by Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus, Vidal replaced Edwards on the second play of the game and he took seven of the 11 snaps on the Chargers' first drive.
How the Chargers' backfield will look on a short week with a Week 16 Thursday night matchup against the Denver Broncos could be regarded as a question. It's also a fairly tough matchup, with the Broncos in the top half of the league in fantasy points allowed to running backs (Yahoo! scoring, 0.5-point PPR). However, a good chunk of backs that have not split the work have had some success against the Broncos.
Vidal is a waiver wire add done with a bit more of an eye on a favorable Week 17 matchup against the New England Patriots. But those who need an option in Week 16 as a low-end RB2 or flex (leagues with 12 or more teams), could easily embrace a little risk and use the rookie as a plug-and-play.
ESPN Ownership: 15.2%
Yahoo! Ownership: 12%