FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 10/2/2008 2:58pm et

The Detroit Free Press reports Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said RB Rudi Johnson will start in the team's Week 5 game, but ideally Johnson would split carries evenly with RB Kevin Smith during the game. Colletto decides who starts the game, while running backs coach Sam Gash handles the in-game substitutions.

The Huddle Take: If that's the case, neither Johnson nor Smith look like viable starting options anytime soon. If you're reduced to having to play either one, you need to immediately look for help via trade or a free agent pickup.

Posted: 9/30/2008 1:11pm et

The Detroit News is reporting Detroit Lions RB Rudi Johnson will start the team's Week 5 game against the Chicago Bears.

The Huddle Take: Based on reports Monday this move was coming. The Lions rank next to last in rushing and are generating just 67 YPG from the running back position. Johnson looked decent in week 3, rushing for 83 yards and adding another 48 in receiving with a touchdown. He isn't the Rudi of old and will likely be spelled a few times during a game by Kevin Smith, but the Lions want badly to establish a running game so look for Rudi to keep putting up decent numbers and he now makes a viable RB3 or a starter during the bye weeks.

Posted: 9/29/2008 11:07pm et

The Detroit Free Press reports Detroit Lions RB Rudi Johnson got hot Week 3 and the team ran with him instead of RB Kevin Smith, who started the game. Head coach Rod Marinelli said Monday, Sept. 29, that Johnson and Smith were competing and the Lions could go with the hot hand Week 5.

The Huddle Take: It look like Johnson becomes the better play for the time being in Detroit. The good news is, unlike some teams who really stink, at least Detroit still puts up a few decent offensive stats while mucking up the place. Kevin Smith will still play and be a factor, but likely will take a second fiddle position for now.

Posted: 9/18/2008 5:56pm et

The Detroit Free Press reports Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said RB Rudi Johnson will play more Week 3.

The Huddle Take: That's somewhat bad news for Kevin Smith owners, but it's unclear just how many carries Johnson will take from the rookie. If you have a better option than Smith this week, you should probably sit him until you know for sure whether or not Detroit is about to employ a full-on RBBC.

Posted: 9/4/2008 5:28pm et

The Detroit Free Press reports Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said he is not sure how many carries RB Rudi Johnson will get on average once he gets comfortable with the offense. 'I don't know,' Colletto said. 'I kind of play that by feel, so to speak. But he's going to play.'

The Huddle Take: Well, while Kevin Smith wasn't guaranteed to be the primary back, he was looking to be in a good situation as no one else was stepping up. This appears to be changing a bit and it could be a committee situation if Rudi stays healthy. In fact, if he does well, he could take over the number one role and drop Smith's use considerably.

Posted: 9/3/2008 11:20am et

According to a report on Profootballtalk.com, newly acquired Detroit running back Rudi Johnson arrived in Detroit only to have his luggage stolen by disgruntled running back Tatum Bell who was released by the team.

The Huddle Take: On the lighter side, it souunds like Bell has just gone crazy after his release by Matt Millen and the Lions. Apparently Bell realized that Johnson could not run him down to get the bags back on that bad hamstring so he took a chance. Anyway, Bell is one of many other running backs that are available for teams once the season starts and injuries start to happen to key personnel.

Posted: 9/2/2008 9:30pm et

MLive.com reports Detroit Lions RB Rudi Johnson said he expects to play Week 1.

The Huddle Take: He may expect to play, but it would be only to spell Kevin Smith from time to time at this point. While he could garner plenty of time in the future if he stays healthy, it will happen somewhat gradually, not a few days after joining the team.

Posted: 9/1/2008 9:53pm et

ESPN is reporting the Detroit Lions have signed free-agent RB Rudi Johnson. Terms of the contract were not disclosed but it is believed to be a one-year deal.

The Huddle Take: Detroit was a nice place for Johnson to land. He immediately becomes the #2 RB for the Lions and should see a few carries in week one. As he comes up to speed on the offense he'll likely spell rookie Kevin Smith for at least a few series a game. If Rudi can stay healthy we may see yet another RBBC situation.

Posted: 9/1/2008 7:41am et

ESPN's John Clayton reports the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions could be possible landing spots for free-agent RB Rudi Johnson (Bengals).

The Huddle Take: Johnson should land with another team in the near future but there is a glut of runners still available for teams like Shaun Alexander and Cedric Benson. Fantasy owners should not be looking at Johnson for their fantasy teams at the present time since he is still battling hamstring injuries which played a part with him being released in Cincinnati.

Posted: 8/30/2008 3:45pm et

Bengals.com reports the Cincinnati Bengals have released RB Rudi Johnson, according to his agent.

The Huddle Take: The Bengals were unable to trade Johnson and the move saves them over $3 million for the next couple of years. The emergence of Chris Perry made Johnson expendable though it makes the Bengals now rely on the often injured Perry and Kenny Watson.