Beat: ‘Increasingly likely’ RB Johnson gets waived

Johnson had a star-crossed first season with the Steelers, losing most of his responsibilities after a key special teams error in Week 2. He was an interesting draft prospect and the Packers running back room has a lot of uncertainty to it with MarShawn Lloyd’s health seemingly always questionable and Josh Jacobs facing a potential suspension. Johnson is worth a speculative pick-up in deeper leagues.

Buried on the depth chart after a key special teams error last year, Johnson now has Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle ahead of him for carries. We’d still bet Johnson makes the roster — he was a third-round pick just last year — but the early run out has been wildly disappointing.

DeFabo wonders whether Steelers coach Mike McCarthy will be “willing to open up the playbook for Heidenreich and how does the rookie fare in pass protection?” If McCarthy is willing to design plays for Heidenreich, and the youngster can be trusted to keep QB Aaron Rodgers safe from oncoming pass rushers, it is possible he earns a spot on the game-day roster. If not, he may need to spend 2026 refining his skill set while RB Jaylen Warren works on becoming Rodgers’ “new check-down favorite.” That said, DeFabo adds that “an injury or a surprising training camp performance could change things positively for Heidenreich. Keep an eye on him, but temper expectations.

McCarthy fielded questions from reporters after practice on Tuesday and was asked about Heidenreich at the very end. McCarthy kept things short, but complimentary, saying Heidenreich is an instinctive, natural football player with an excellent skill set, who has had a tremendous start. The Steelers’ coach adds that Heidenreich has “picked up the offense” and has “positional flexibility.” Notably, the Steelers are listing him with an RB/WR designation on their team website. Heidenreich has a long way to go before becoming fantasy-relevant, but McCarthy’s words are encouraging.

The former Navy Midshipmen lined up all over the formation as a receiving weapon out of the backfield, out wide, in the slot and even in line. Heidenreich stands 6’/198. He outright led or tied for the team-high in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in each of the last three seasons, and now holds Navy records for the most all-time receiving yards (1,994), single-season receiving yards (941), receiving yards in a game (243) and ties for the most single-season receiving touchdowns (six). In his final college season, Heidenreich posted a 77/499/3 rushing line, a 51/941/6 receiving line, produced a 12.6-yard aDOT and earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors. He averaged an exceptional 4.36 yards per route run over the course of his career and gained substantial hype in the fantasy world during the pre-draft process. Keep tabs on him this summer in the Steelers running back room.

Johnson, of course, finds himself behind Jaylen Warren and free-agent signing Rico Dowdle, so perhaps the slate is clean but that doesn’t exactly mean he’s going to find carries. Johnson’s in a precarious position on the depth chart at this point. He certainly doesn’t have much expected fantasy value this year without injuries ahead of him, and his dynasty stock is well down from where it was last offseason.

Dowdle will presumably form a one-two punch with incumbent starter Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh after notching consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the Cowboys and Panthers. It also signals a level of discomfort with former third-round pick Kaleb Johnson, who played sparingly during his rookie season following multiple special teams miscues. The financials of the contract were not immediately made available. Although unlikely to match the 235 carries he averaged the previous two seasons, Dowdle’s size and frame keep his touchdown equity high on the run-first Steelers.

A pair of rookies draw inactivity as both Wilson and Johnson are not active for the team’s Wildcard game against the Texans. The Steelers aim to avoid a one-and-done after backing into the postseason in Week 18.

Watt isn’t expected to get his usual amount of snaps, but the future Hall of Famer will be able to held as a pass-rusher in sub-packages in the winner-take-all game. The Steelers inactives for Week 18 will be WR Roman Wilson, QB Will Howard, RB Kaleb Johnson, CB Tre Flowers, LB Jeremiah Moon and OT Jack Driscoll.

Graziano adds that “the team also believes rookie Kaleb Johnson will contribute before season’s end,” but for now, it is a two-man show. Perhaps the biggest news here is that Graziano still lists Warren ahead of Gainwell after Gainwell totaled 134 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns with Warren sidelined last week. Warren’s knee “just didn’t feel quite right in pregame warmups.” He gets a Week 5 bye to get right before the Steelers take on the Browns in Week 6.