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Derrius Guice injury could cost him two months, opening door for Adrian Peterson

The Washington running back depth chart is officially shaken up after Derrius Guice suffered another knee injury.

Fletcher Cox of the Philadelphia Eagles tackles Derrius Guice of the Washington NFL team at Lincoln Financial Field on September 8, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Washington suffered a serious blow to their running back depth this past week, as second-year back Derrius Guice suffered a knee injury that is believed to be a torn meniscus, according to the Washington Post. The Post is hearing Guice could miss up to eight weeks following surgery.

The knee injured is not the same as his torn ACL, but it is still worrisome. Guice had 18 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards in the debut. It was not ideal, but coming off a torn ACL, the thought was he would be able to work off his rust and improve moving forward. Instead, he suffers a major setback at this early juncture of his career.

Fantasy impact

Adrian Peterson gains the most from this injury. He was a healthy inactive in Week 1, with head coach Jay Gruden suggesting he would be active when they needed a more traditional bell-cow role. With Guice out now, Peterson will likely be the lead back, and Chris Thompson will continue in his role as the passing down back.

Washington hosts the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Given the high-octane Cowboys offense, Washington will be looking to control the clock and make life a little easier for Case Keenum. Peterson will likely get a sizable workload, while Thompson will be plenty busy out of the backfield. AP is a good start as a potential RB2 against a Cowboys defense that gave up 10.9 yards per carry to Saquon Barkley and 8.5 yards per carry to Wayne Gallman. Thompson is a great PPR start given his prolific pass-catching abilities.