Kalen Ballage Fantasy Outlook Limited in Week 13 Despite Positive Injury Update

It looks like Los Angeles Chargers running back Kalen Ballage will return to the field this week after missing the team's last game with an ankle injury. However, he is no longer the team's starter heading into a matchup against the New England Patriots, which obviously limits his fantasy outlook moving forward.

Kalen Ballage Fantasy Outlook

Ballage had been a reliable running back in Weeks 9-11 as he averaged 16.3 carries per game for 60.3 rushing yards. He also scored a touchdown and caught 14 passes for a total of 76 yards over that span.

However, starting running back Austin Ekeler returned last week after battling a hamstring injury and played in 72% of the team's offensive snaps. Ekeler looked as explosive as he did at the start of the season.

It is definitely possible Ballage sees work on Sunday as a change-of-pace back or receiving threat out of the backfield, but that doesn't mean he will be fantasy relevant, though.

It would be smart to keep Ballage on your bench this week and wait and see what kind of role he will play in the offense moving forward. While he may not have much upside right now, he does become one of the most valuable running back handcuffs heading into the fantasy football playoffs.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.