Ryan

Grant

ESPN’s John Clayton reported Tuesday that Benson was “hoping” to latch on with the Raiders. Both veteran runners have been greeted by dead markets, but Grant did at least earn a visit to New England last month. Each appeared to be running on fumes last season, though Benson did manage to go over 1,000 rushing yards for the third straight year while proving typically durable. Grant played better down the stretch after getting off to a slow start. Either would provide cheap, veteran insurance behind the injury prone Darren McFadden.

It’s the second straight week that Starks has held a massive edge in terms of snap count. There is clearly a changing of the guard here, as Starks earned a role over the declining Grant in preseason and has solidified it by averaging 6.76 yards per carry through two games. Starks is the back to own and use going forward. His touches will rise once the Packers start sitting on leads.

Grant registered his best game to date, showing solid agility and acceleration, both of which had been absent in his previous two contests. He’s a poor bet to top 17 touches on the ground on a weekly basis, especially as the season wears on. That being said, he certainly earned himself plenty of looks as the main back for Week 4 against Denver, especially with James Starks’ late-game fumble. He’s a low-upside flex play in non PPR leagues against the Broncos.

The paper also confirms James Starks is “likely to see an increased workload,” despite an 11-carry, 5-yard Week 3, with a lost fumble. Grant appeared on the verge of taking the lead in Green Bay’s backfield committee, but he has not been cleared to practice. Starks now gets a big opportunity to leap ahead.

A bruised kidney is a serious enough injury that the Packers have had to step in to protect Grant from himself this week. All signs point toward Grant sitting out, allowing James Starks to take over the feature back role against the Broncos.

Grant just couldn’t get medically cleared, so James Starks will start against the Broncos. While Denver’s defense has stifled the run in its last two games, it’s also been selling out to do so facing Andy Dalton/Cedric Benson and Matt Hasselbeck/Chris Johnson. The Broncos won’t have that luxury against Aaron Rodgers. Consider Starks a strong RB2 play. This could be the opportunity he needs to leap ahead of Grant in the backfield pecking order for good.

He added one catch for six yards. Grant received just four carries to James Starks’ 11 after losing a fumble (his first since Week 2 2009) on Green Bay’s opening drive. A quiet night probably should’t be considered surprising for a player coming off a bruised kidney, but Grant did not run with the same power or quickness Starks this evening, and looked like Green Bay’s clear-cut RB2. That being said, he should be a strong flex play in Week 6 when the Packers play host to St. Louis’ bottom-ranked run defense.

The Packers couldn’t move the ball efficiently on the ground until the final drive when Grant gave way to James Starks. Grant has yet to reach the end zone this season, and he’s averaging under 40 rushing yards per game heading into the Week 8 bye.

The Packers have informed Grant of their interest in bringing him back, but they won’t make an offer until he shops his services around first. The agent predictably expects a “market” for Grant, though we suspect there will be a chilly reception for a 29-year-old lacking in receiving ability, break-away speed, and pass protection.

Grant’s agent said last week that the Lions had an offer on the table. If that is the case, Grant was unimpressed with the particulars. The cap-strapped Lions were believed to be just $5 million over the salary cap with a draft class yet to sign. We doubt they were offering Grant much in the way of guaranteed money.