Report: Ben Tate to Miss A Few Weeks Due to Knee Injury
The Cleveland Browns rushing attack was to be led by Ben Tate this season, with young rookies Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell providing support as backups. That ended quickly as Tate missed the second half of the Steelers game with a knee injury. Now Ian Rapoport is reporting that Tate will miss a few weeks due to a knee sprain, but that he won’t need surgery:
#Browns starting RB Ben Tate will likely miss a few weeks with a knee sprain, source says. At this point, no surgery required.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 10, 2014
Tate has a history of injuries and his inability to stay healthy is one reason the Browns were able to sign him on such a reasonable contract. A knee sprain doesn’t sound too damaging but it is problematic enough that Tate will be sidelined 2 to 4 weeks. That means West and Crowell, as well as Glenn Winston, will have to carry the load. West had a superb game rushing for 100 yards, making players miss and looking steady in the Zone Blocking Scheme. Crowell made the most of his limited carries, bound to go up against the Saints, scoring two touchdowns. Winston was inactive against the Steelers but will likely be active this week. When Tate returns he could return to a backfield by committee if the rookies are able to make their marks. Tate left Houston to get a chance to be the #1 guy and has really embraced Cleveland and the Browns fans. He had even tweeted back to on fan that he was fine:
@MarkW2112 yep nothing that serious I will be ok thanks for asking
— Ben Tate (@BenTateRB) September 9, 2014
Will be tough for Tate to sit out a few games, but let us hope that the bye week in Week 4 will help. The worst thing for sprains is to come back early and be susceptable to more injury. Hopefully Tate and the medical staff will take a cautious approach.
How do you think this will impact the Browns’ running game?