Who Should I Start? Ty Johnson or Sean Tucker

Saturday, January 17, 3:15 PM

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (ankle) will be inactive when the Bills face the Broncos to kick off the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs on Saturday. Johnson, who missed the team's Wild Card win over the Jaguars with an ankle injury, was able to return to practice on Thursday in a limited capacity, but he'll miss at least one more game. Johnson has seen most of his work this season in the passing game, totaling 263 yards and two scores on his 24 receptions, but without him, the Bills' already depleted receiving core may struggle to find space against Denver's top-three passing defense. The Bills are expected to have Curtis Samuel (elbow) back for the first time since Week 11, but in the win against the Jaguars, Khalil Shakir led the team with 12 receptions, while no other Bills player topped three catches.

Saturday, February 14, 9:15 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker saw a career high of 86 carries in 2025, and although his efficiency dipped drastically from his 2024 sophomore campaign, he could see an expanded role in 2026. With fifth-year back Rachaad White scheduled to hit free agency, and a weak incoming rookie class, Tucker should slot in as Bucky Irving's primary backup/change-of-pace back. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has already compared Irving to Bijan Robinson, whom he rode to a league-leading 2,298 yards from scrimmage with the Falcons in 2025. The unspoken silver lining is that, in Robinson's two seasons in Atlanta, backup running back Tyler Allgeier averaged 671 yards and over five touchdowns while working behind arguably the most talented back in the league. Where Tucker will need to make significant strides to stay on the field is in the passing game. He averaged an abysmal 0.58 yards per route run in 2025, his second time below 0.7 yards through his first three seasons. If Robinson can tap into Tucker's game-breaking speed and boost his efficiency while working him into the passing game, the fourth-year back could be in line for a minor breakout.