Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh declined to name a starting running back after the team released Ray Rice on Monday.
Asked who would start Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Harbaugh said, "Bernard Pierce, Justin Forsett -- they’ll both play a lot. Lorenzo Taliaferro will be a big part of it, too."
If you didn't pick up on it, Harbaugh named every tailback on the roster. As I wrote earlier, Forsett earned the right to start against the Steelers after gaining 70 yards on 11 carries in the season opener.
But, since no one in the backfield is an established starter, Harbaugh will likely go with the hot hand each game. The approach is probably a running-back-by-committee, so Harbaugh would be right in naming everyone a starter.
Pierce fumbled in Week 1 and promptly rode the bench allowing for a nice day for Forsett. But Forsett probably isn't viewed as a longterm answer and it's hard to believe the team wouldn't give Pierce another shot with Rice now out of the picture. This is shaping up to be a committee and even in a nice matchup against the Steelers, who were gashed at times but the Browns last week, you may just want to stay clear of this situation given all that's going on with the team on a short week.
Browns news
