Fantasy Football Advice: The great Charles Sims mystery

The mystery of the week is Charles Sims. The third-round rookie is finally eligible to return to play this week, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't activated him yet -- so we don't know what to make of him. Every coach seems to be really excited about his return, and we know the team loves his potential, but will he be an instant performer? Will he even get a lot of carries to start?

Sims for his part wouldn't talk about his availability for Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns, telling Tom Krasniqi that that's up to the coaches. He hasn't been added to the roster yet, even though there's an open roster spot. It seems very likely that he'll be activated on Saturday to play in Sunday's game, but there's no reason for the Bucs to clue the Browns in on what they're planning to do.

I'd be shocked if Sims isn't at least active for Sunday's game, though.

Meanwhile, Doug Martin was out of his walking boot today, per Greg Auman, although he still didn't participate in practice. It seems exceedingly unlikely that he'll be ready for Sunday's game, and given his lackluster performance there's no real need for the Bucs to rush him back, either.

With Charles Sims' return, Martin's injury and Bobby Rainey's continued production, Martin's time as even a potentially productive player is over. The question is whether Rainey and Sims can be more productive -- and which one of them will take the eventual lead. So far, it seems likely we'll see more of a split load in the backfield, at least over the next couple of weeks, but I do expect Charles Sims to emerge as the clear starter eventually.

Of course, the other question is whether the choice of back even matters with this offensive line.

Editor's Note: FanDuel is hosting a $500,000 one-week fantasy football league this weekend. It's $10 to join and first place wins $40,000. League starts Sunday 1 PM ET and ends on Monday night. Here's the link.