Stuck with Rudi

August 28, 2008 4:10pm CDT

“It's already been decided; the game is irrelevant. The situation has already been presented. The game doesn't really matter.”
--Rudi Johnson to the Cincinnati Enquirer

Oh, we beg to differ, Mr. Johnson. This game does seem to matter.

Not every fantasy league can wait until September 3 to hold their draft or auction. The logistics simply don’t work. It is often difficult to find even one day that all 8, 10, 12, 14 or more owners have even a partially free night to set aside. Sometimes, as is the case in one of my leagues, the draft occurs in the first half of August because that when there’s an open date.

Thankfully, one of my colleagues ended up with Rudi Johnson on the night of August 14. It could just as easily been me. On that day, the first rumors bubbled up about Chris Perry possibly competing for the starting job. Johnson was dealing with a hamstring issue, but the ailment was considered minor. Surely, the injury wouldn’t ruin all those promising reports that came out early in camp, right? The Bengals talked about leaning on Rudi again.

Funny how much can change in a fortnight, huh?

Reports from ESPN and the Cincinnati Enquirer point to the Bengals attempting to acquire a receiver in return for Johnson, and the running back sounds resigned to moving on before Week 1.

If you acquired Johnson in a draft or auction prior to this week, the situation looks, well, like a nightmare. The trade rumors don’t point to specific teams, but we can speculate. Which clubs need either a between-the-tackles runner or a grizzled backup? The Lions and Texans come to mind. The Broncos wouldn’t make such a move unless they were prepared to place Ryan Torain on injured reserve. The Seahawks? The Bills? The logical options appear to be limited.

Would a team even think about trading for Rudi when they could have already signed Shaun Alexander or Najeh Davenport or Anthony Thomas or Cedric Benson? At the least, I’d think most teams will wait until after the final round of cuts to see who else becomes available.

The Bengals appear poised to move forward with Perry starting, Kenny Watson as the top backup, and DeDe Dorsey in the third-string role.

Then again, what happens if Rudi shows up and plays well on Thursday night? Would it increase his trade value? Would the Bengals keep him around and reconsider his role? After all, this franchise is all about second, third and fourth chances and about changing their minds. Just look at Chris Henry.

We rarely find much of interest in the final round of preseason games, with the possible exception of looking for keeper league talent. Rudi Johnson will be one of those uncommon cases, as his future may hinge on how he looks tonight.

Fantasy football owners who drafted him two weeks or even one week ago should tune in with interest. The best-case scenario might be that he runs well, sticks on the Bengals roster, stays healthy, and regains his role once Perry suffers his next injury.