Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Kaleb Johnson

Monday, November 10, 6:18 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot) hasn't been able to do anything for the last four months with what the team is calling a foot injury, and there have been no recent updates on what his timetable might look like for a return this year. It has opened up speculation that Mixon won't return at all for Houston in 2025. He was placed on the Non-Football Injury list in the offseason, and the Texans have offered few details on his foot injury. General manager Nick Caserio said in early October that Mixon was making progress, but the fact that we haven't heard anything since isn't good news. The Texans are still holding out hope that Mixon will be back this year, but KPRC 2 Sports' Aaron Wilson has said that Mixon's situation is "tough" and "complicated." Fantasy managers shouldn't be so hopeful he'll play in 2025. In the meantime, the Texans will roll on with veteran Nick Chubb in the early down role, with rookie Woody Marks seeing passing-down work.

Friday, November 7, 7:59 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson was going as a late-round flier with upside in fantasy drafts this fall, but he was quickly sent to the waiver wire. The 22-year-old third-rounder out of Iowa has been a distant third on Pittsburgh's RB depth chart behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell this year, and he didn't help himself with a costly special-teams blunder early in the season. So far through his first five NFL games, Johnson has handled only 15 rushing attempts for 40 yards (2.7 yards per carry) while catching one of his two targets for nine yards. He played five offensive snaps in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts, which was actually an improvement after not playing at all the previous two games. It will take an injury to Warren or Gainwell for Johnson to get more involved, which means he's only stash-worthy in fantasy football in dynasty/keeper leagues.