Who Should I Start? David Montgomery or Diontae Johnson

Tuesday, January 14, 4:35 PM

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (knee) was listed as a full participant in the team's first practice of the week on Tuesday. An MCL sprain to his right knee kept Montgomery out for the final three games of the regular season, and he had an extra week to heal up with the Lions on bye during the wild-card round of the playoffs last weekend. With the 27-year-old back to a full-go in practice, even though it was merely a walkthrough on Tuesday, he's on track to be available this Saturday in the Divisional Round against the visiting Washington Commanders. It's good news for the Lions offense for sure, but fantasy managers in playoff leagues should be hesitant to rely on Monty, who could have a reduced role alongside Jahmyr Gibbs in his first game back. In 14 games before his knee injury in 2024, Montgomery had 185 rushing attempts for 775 yards and 12 TDs and also caught 36 passes for 341 yards.

Tuesday, January 14, 2:07 PM

The Houston Texans are releasing veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Tuesday, according to the team's X account. Johnson has been traded twice and released twice in the last calendar year, so this is clearly not a good sign for his future fantasy football outlook. After logging 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with Carolina this season, he accumulated just three receptions on nine targets for 18 yards in five games combined with the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. Johnson posted three seasons of at least 882 receiving yards earlier in his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but those days seem long gone after four WR-needy franchises have let him go. All that said, he could join one of the remaining playoff contenders ahead of Super Bowl 59.