Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Kaleb Johnson

Wednesday, September 17, 11:11 AM

The Houston Texans have been worringly vague when providing updates on the status of running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot), who did not participate in any team offseason activities while recovering from an ankle/foot injury. Mixon was placed on the non-football injury list before the start of the regular season, meaning his earliest possible return date is Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens. However, it appears as though Mixon will likely be out significantly longer and could even miss the entirety of 2025. The 29-year-old was a huge piece of Houston's offense in 2024, totaling 1,325 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns in 14 games. In Mixon's absence so far, the Texans have turned to veteran running back Nick Chubb, who has 103 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 carries through the team's first two games. Mixon may be worth stashing in an IR spot for fantasy managers, but the lack of updates from the team is a concerning sign.

Tuesday, September 16, 5:58 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson "probably" will lose kickoff-return duties in Week 3 against the New England Patriots after a crucial special-teams gaffe in the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. Johnson allowed a kickoff to bounce over his head and into the end zone on Sunday in the fourth quarter because he thought the play would be called dead. But with the NFL's new kickoff rules, it was a live ball, which the Seahawks recovered for a game-changing touchdown. The Steelers will give Johnson a chance to work his way back into the special teams role, but in the short term, he'll be benched. Fantasy managers had high hopes for the 22-year-old during draft season, but Jaylen Warren's demise has been premature, and Kenneth Gainwell has operated as the No. 2. Johnson only played two snaps on offense in Week 2 and has just two carries for a loss of one yard in his first two NFL games. His special-teams gaffe on Sunday certainly didn't help his cause for a bigger role on offense.