Who Should I Start? Duke Johnson or Jeremy McNichols

Sunday, May 5, 1:51 PM

Running back Duke Johnson announced his retirement from professional football on Sunday. Johnson was originally taken in the third round (77th overall) by the Cleveland Browns in the 2015 NFL draft out of Miami. He spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Browns before spending two years with the Houston Texans. Johnson played for the Miami Dolphins in 2021 and the Buffalo Bills in the final year of his career in 2022. The 30-year-old wraps up his career having recorded 2,265 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 532 carries, adding 311 catches on 405 targets for 2,870 yards and an additional 12 touchdowns in 97 games (21 starts) covering eight seasons. Johnson had a career-high 410 rushing yards on 83 attempts in his first year in Houston in 2019.

Tuesday, March 11, 4:37 PM

The Washington Commanders are re-signing running back Jeremy McNichols to an undisclosed one-year deal on Tuesday, a source tells ESPN's John Keim. Although McNichols wasn't on the fantasy radar at all last year in his first year in D.C., he was a valuable member of the team's RB room as a backup for his blitz pickups while also contributing a career-high 267 rushing yards and a career-high four rushing touchdowns on 55 carries over 17 regular-season games (one start). He also had nine catches for 27 yards and added nine yards and a touchdown on five carries in three playoff games. With both Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler returning to the Commanders' backfield in 2025, McNichols will open the year as the No. 3 RB and will have a bigger role on special teams as a return man. The 29-year-old has only 625 rushing yards and five rushing TDs on 145 carries over seven NFL seasons.