Who Should I Start? James Mitchell or Theo Johnson

Friday, January 12, 9:37 PM

Detroit Lions tight end James Mitchell (hand) has been ruled out ahead of Sunday's Wild-Card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Mitchell was limited in practice on Thursday, but ended up missing Friday's session. The Lions have decided to rule him out for this contest, which normally doesn't mean too much. However, Sam LaPorta (knee) has been banged up, but he was able to get through a full practice on Friday. Fellow tight end Brock Wright appears ready to play, so the absence of Mitchell won't make much of an impact.

Thursday, November 21, 5:34 PM

New York Giants rookie tight end Theo Johnson (back) was listed as a full participant in Thursday's practice after he went down as limited on the injury report on Wednesday. Johnson has been dealing with a back injury of late but didn't miss the Week 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany and had extra time to heal up during last week's bye. He had three catches for a season-high 51 yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career in the Week 9 loss to the division-rival Washington Commanders. Johnson has some intriguing long-term upside for those in dynasty/keeper leagues, but he hasn't really moved the needle as more of a TE3 in his first year in the league. The 23-year-old's fantasy stock in 2024 will likely be negatively affected by quarterback Daniel Jones' benching, as well as the impending return of receiver Darius Slayton (concussion).