Rapid React: Rice released, Forsett, Pierce, Taliaferro values on the rise

Video released by TMZ early Monday depicting Ray Rice savagely knocking out his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City casino instantly sparked an outcry in the NFL community, prompting team brass to take swift action. Monday afternoon the Baltimore Ravens officially cut ties with the former Pro Bowler.

With Rice gone, the Baltimore backfield, sparked by an out-of-nowhere performance from Justin Forsett Week 1 vs. Cincinnati, is complicated. Though Forsett showed well (11-70-1, 5-14-0) and, according to Ravens insider Jamison Hensley, is in the driver's seat to start Thursday against Pittsburgh, questions remain. Bernard Pierce, who was benched after an early fumble Sunday, and intriguing rookie rusher Lorenzo Taliaferro, a 6-foot, 226-pounder with early-down and goal-line potential, remain in the mix.

In wake out the Rice news, the Arcade crew, naturally, has various opinions on the matter. Here are our takes on who to grab and the backfield's long-term prospects:

Oh how quickly value can change. Pierce, widely considered a mid-round sleeper, literally fumbled his opportunity to secure every-down work. Even before getting benched, he looked timid on his six carries totaling 14 yards. He may get another chance, but Forsett, who is very familiar with Kubaik's zone-blocking system from his days in Houston, is in the captain's chair, for now. Against a relenting Pittsburgh front Thursday night, he's a borderline RB2 with 80-total yard, one-TD potential. Even if the elevated starter continues to perform, he likely isn't the long-term answer. At 5-foot-8, 194-pounds, he isn't built for every week, every down work, though he has played well previously as a starter (7 games, 4.5 ypc, 78.6 total ypg, 3 TDs). Plunking down 20-25% of your FAAB budget to acquire his services is recommended. Don't overspend.

Taliaferro, meanwhile, is a powerful interior runner with plus vision and patience who could take control of short-yardage work, possibly netting 8-10 carries per game or more down the road. For those thin at RB, he's worth a bench stash to see what unfolds.

Pierce should get another chance to prove his mettle, in some capacity. However, his lack of aggressive running and constant mistakes have done him no favors. Out of the Baltimore trio, he is least appealing. -- Brad Evans

Bernard Pierce gained just 14 yards on six carries before getting benched after losing a fumble, but he was facing a Cincinnati defense that allowed the third fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs last season. He disappointed last year, getting just 2.9 YPC, but he looked like a natural fit in the team’s new zone-blocking scheme during the preseason. Justin Forsett is a must-add after what he did in Week 1, and Lorenzo Taliaferro is now a deep sleeper, but Pierce remains the favorite to act as the team’s feature back. I’d rank him somewhere in the 25-30 range among fantasy RBs moving forward. -- Dalton Del Don

If you want nothing to do with the Ravens' backfield at this point, or the Baltimore offense generally, I get it. I'm still not over the fact that Joe Flacco attempted 62 passes on Sunday, and that Steve Smith dropped roughly half of them. We appear to be headed for a RBBC arrangement, featuring soon-to-be-29-year-old vet Justin Forsett and third-year back Bernard Pierce, who averaged 2.9 YPC last season (and who fumbled his way to the bench on Sunday).

Interested? Yeah, me either.

I'm not going to completely write-off Gary Kubiak's ground game after one regrettable week, but the group of ordinary runners in Baltimore is clearly a concern. Rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro is worth a flier in deeper formats, clearly. He's a better waiver play than Forsett if you're thinking long-range. -- Andy Behrens

I have long thought that Bernard Pierce was a pedestrian NFL back, so I'm not surprised that he's already losing carries after fumbling away his lead role in Week 1. The problem is that Justin Forsett is ill-equipped as a featured back. I love small, quick, shifty backs because they can be a nuisance for defenses as they are hard to pick up in the line of scrimmage scrum. But Forsett isn't as stout as even Gio Bernard and he's not someone that the Ravens will want to give much more than 10 touches per game. Then there's rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro, who offers featured back size, but has only average speed and even less in the quickness department. That said, he may have the best long-range upside. For the near term, though, I suspect we might see an ugly three-man platoon, or at least a "ride the hot hand" scenario. And, frankly, this was a terrible rushing team last year, and I'm not sure it is vastly improved up front. This is all to say that I won't be wasting much of my time thinking about Baltimore backfield. I have better ways to spend my time than contemplating flex-play dice rolls. I'm sure most of you do to. -- Brandon Funston

Here's how I'd rank the Ravens backfield if starting fresh today: Pierce, Forsett, Taliaferro. The 4.9 YPC Pierce from 2012 is still floating around somewhere, it's just a matter of the Ravens fishing him out. I can't imagine he'll be buried for too long just because of one fumble. Forsett has strong efficiency numbers for his career, but he's an undersized veteran - his age (29) and size (5-foot-8, 197 pounds) work against him. Taliaferro is the long-term sleeper, but he hardly played in the opener despite Baltimore's struggles on offense. The team doesn't appear to be fast-tracking the rookie.

Full disclosure, I don't have a single Baltimore back on any of my current rosters. And even after the next wave of FAAB, that's unlikely to change. -- Scott Pianowski