Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Nick Chubb

Monday, July 22, 1:23 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (undisclosed) has been held out of training camp practice the last few days, but head coach DeMeco Ryans said Mixon "will be fine." "I'm not worried out Joe." It's not a long-term injury for the 27-year-old, so he should be 100 percent in plenty of time for the start of the 2024 regular season this fall. Mixon's absence will give Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale, among others, more reps early in training camp in Houston's backfield. When healthy, the former Bengals RB will be the Texans' clear lead back in 2024. "Workhorse. He's an absolute workhorse, in every regard," offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik recently said of Mixon. He's joining an offense on the rise, but Mixon is probably going to need to be much more efficient as a runner than he was last year in order to finish as a top-12 fantasy back in his first year in Houston.

Thursday, July 25, 7:24 PM

The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that the Cleveland Browns have options with their roster management and don't need to rush running back Nick Chubb (knee) back for the start of the 2024 season. But if Chubb returns to practice at any point during training camp, he'll be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list and would have to be on the 53-man active roster to start the regular season. Chubb has been a superstar for the Browns who has consistently produced -- his career average of 5.3 yards per carry ranks seventh-best by any player since 1946 -- but he's recovering from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his left knee, the same one in which he previously tore his ACL in college. The fact that the 28-year-old doesn't have a timetable and remains a candidate to open the year on the PUP list (and miss at least the first four games), makes him a risky RB3/flex in fantasy in 2024.