Report: MRI confirms that Rashard Mendenhall has a torn ACL
Per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette, an MRI confirmed that Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has a torn ACL and Mendenhall will have surgery in the next week or two.
There was no injury to the other parts of the knee (MCL, PCL, meniscus, etc.), according to Bouchette.
Based on average draft position (ADP) from Yahoo! leagues, Mendenhall is the third running back in the top six backs off the board to have suffered a torn ACL this season.
Kansas City's Jamaal Charles suffered a torn ACL in Week 2 and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson suffered a torn ACL in Week 16. The eighth running back off the board, on average, was Oakland's Darren McFadden, whose foot injury kept him out of nine games this season.
Given the minimum timeframe of eight months to recover from the injury, there's a good chance that Mendenhall won't be ready for the start of the 2012 season. Even if he is on the active roster at the start of the season, players usually aren't the same in their first year back from the injury.
In Week 17, Isaac Redman carried the ball 19 times for 92 yards and a touchdown and should get the majority of the carries going forward this postseason.
As the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Steelers face the Broncos this weekend.
