Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Ty Chandler

Friday, September 5, 7:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell is a healthy inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Friday night in Brazil against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN. It's bad news for Mitchell heading into his first year with the Chiefs, as it looks like he's the RB4 to open the year, behind starter Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith. The 27-year-old was getting some first-team reps early in training camp, but that was a long time ago in late July. Mitchell signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with KC in the offseason after spending his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three years in the Bay Area, the former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Louisiana averaged 4.7 yards per tote on 327 rush attempts for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (five in his rookie season).

Wednesday, December 3, 1:30 PM

The Minnesota Vikings are opening the 21-day practice window for running back Ty Chandler (knee) on Wednesday, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic. While Chandler isn't guaranteed to come off Injured Reserve to play in Week 14 against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, it's notable after Aaron Jones Sr. (shoulder) suffered a shoulder injury in the blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Chandler, 27, suffered a knee injury in the season-opener against the Chicago Bears and has been out ever since. When he's ready to return, he'll provide the Vikings with RB depth, but his biggest contributions will most likely come as a return man on special teams. In his third year in the league in 2024, Chandler had 56 rushing attempts for 182 yards (3.3 yards per tote) and no touchdowns, adding six catches for 42 yards in 17 regular-season games.