Who Should I Start? Dameon Pierce or Jordan James

Wednesday, July 23, 11:07 AM

The Houston Texans placed both wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) and running back Dameon Pierce (undisclosed) on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Dell suffered a dislocated knee and tore his ACL, MCL and LCL last year in Week 16, so he's not expected to practice at all in training camp or play at all in 2025. The 25-year-old has already had multiple surgeries on his knee in the offseason and may never be the same player if he's able to return in 2026. It's part of the reason why Houston drafted rookie pass-catchers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Pierce, meanwhile, will be sidelined to begin training camp this summer with an undisclosed ailment, but he can be activated at any time. When healthy, he'll primarily be battling former Brown Nick Chubb for backup duties to Joe Mixon (ankle).

Wednesday, July 30, 11:38 AM

San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Jordan James has played well in training camp so far, and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said James "hits holes hard," according to Vic Tafur and Matt Barrows of The Athletic. A fifth-round selection out of Oregon, James rushed for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Ducks in 2024. He's presumably competing with 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo and fifth-year veteran Patrick Taylor Jr. for the backup job to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. Given the injuries that McCaffrey has dealt with throughout his career, James could find himself in the mix for carries sooner rather than later. He needs an injury to be fantasy relevant, but James could emerge as an intriguing ultra-late-round handcuff option if he continues to impress throughout the remainder of the preseason.