With RB D'Andre Swift out for Sunday's game against the Panthers, Lions RBs coach Kyle Caskey says Adrian Peterson will "lead it off" but that Kerryon Johnson "will fill [Swift's role] as much as possible." That makes Johnson sounds like the better fantasy player here -- at least in PPR formats. Of course, we'll all just be guessing at the workload split heading into the game. Fortunately, Carolina brings the league's 4th-best RB scoring matchup, so it's a spot capable of supporting fantasy value in both Detroit RBs.

Lions RB D'Andre Swift (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. We'll see if he can get cleared for Week 12. The rookie's absence this weekend leaves Detroit's backfield to Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson. Over the season's first 4 games, before Swift's role grew, Peterson tallied 54 carries and 6 targets to Johnson's 21 carries and 3 targets.

Lions RB D'Andre Swift was held out of Thursday's practice and listed on the injury report with a concussion. It's the 1st we've heard of it. With Lions-Panthers less than 3 days away, Swift is looking very iffy. Fantasy owners should start lining up alternatives. The rookie's absence would leave Detroit's backfield to Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson

Adrian Peterson easily led the Detroit backfield in the opening loss to Chicago, doubling up #2 Kerryon Johnson in carries, rushing for 71 more yards than the combined total for Johnson and D'Andre Swift and even leading the trio in receiving yards (21 on 3 catches). But that doesn't necessarily mean he's the lead back going forward. “Obviously you start getting the guy with the hot hand, and Adrian was running really well in that last game, so he got a few more carries in there as well," OC Darrell Bevell told the Detroit Free Press. "So we’ll kind of continue to go in that area. We really like all three of those guys, but we’re going to try to — I always say, we’re going to try to put them in the best spots to help them be successful. They all bring a little bit different pieces to the puzzle. There was some situational football in there that elevated some guys’ snaps — so just the way we’re using them. I think we can continue to see that rotation a little bit.” This could be a frustrating fantasy situation as we continue to see which situations favor which of the 3 Detroit backs -- as well as who might be the "hot hand" on a given day. For Week 2, we have to treat Peterson as the likeliest carry/touch leader.

Lions D’Andre Swift (hip) isn’t listed on the final Week 1 injury report after putting in a full practice on Friday. The rookie will make his NFL debut against the Bears this weekend — but it’s completely uncertain how much work he’ll get alongside Kerryon Johnson and Adrian Peterson.

RB Adrian Peterson is joining the Lions on a 1-year deal, according to multiple reports. "I know coach [Darell] Bevell from my days in Minnesota," Peterson told ESPN's Josina Anderson. "Ultimately I feel comfortable going there and helping them to get better." Peterson further complicates an already crowded backfield. He looks like the best bet for goal-line work, which would sap fantasy upside from D'Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson. We're not interested in drafting Peterson. Frankly, we already weren't chasing too hard after Swift or Johnson either. This looks like a frustrating fantasy backfield for 2020.

Lions RB Kerryon Johnson is still wearing a brace on his knee and has been getting "maintenance" days off early in training camp. He missed 8 games last season with a right knee injury that required surgery -- although he did return for the final 2 games. He also missed 6 games as a rookie with a left knee injury. Durability remains a concern here. And if Johnson isn't at 100%, it'll only be tougher to hold off rookie RB D'Andre Swift.

The Lions selected Georgia RB D’Andre Swift with the 35th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Swift earned playing time as a true freshman in 2017 in a backfield that included NFLers Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, averaging a big 7.6 yards per carry on 81 attempts and actually leading the backfield with 17 catches. He took over as Georgia’s lead back the past 2 seasons, totaling 2,267 yards and 17 TDs on 6.3 yards per carry. He also posted receiving lines of 32-297-3 and 24-216-1. Swift is on the smaller side at 5’8 and 212 pounds, never reached 200 carries in a college season and dealt with leg, foot and shoulder injuries at Georgia. So he doesn’t project as a workhorse ball-carrier in the NFL. But Swift looks like a lead back with ready-made ability in the passing game. We’ve heard multiple scouts compare him to Dalvin Cook. In Detroit, Swift will duke it out with Kerryon Johnson for 2020 snaps. Considering the draft capital invested in Swift here, we’d consider him the favorite to lead the backfield in touches.

Lions RBs Kerryon Johnson (knee) and Bo Scarbrough (ribs) are active for today’s game against the Broncos. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave us a convoluted report on this backfield this morning that didn’t help much. Try to avoid the situation — but if you’re forced to invest, Johnson is your best bet.

Lions RB Kerryon Johnson is expected to play today against the Broncos, which would be his first action since landing on IR after Week 7. So how many carries can we expect? Here's the goofy way NFL Network's Ian Rapoport stated it Sunday morning: "Johnson may not come out as the starter today, but he's expected to get his full share of carries along with Bo Scarbrough." When last we saw Johnson, he topped 70% playing time in 3 straight games and was dominating Detroit's backfield work. He has since missed 8 games with a knee injury, and Scarbrough has played well in his absence. Here's what HC Matt Patricia told reporters Friday when asked if Johnson would be limited, according to SI.com: “I would say that, I don’t know if you want to use the word ‘limit’ or just try to be smart, probably a better way to put it. From that standpoint of just being very aware, but certainly when you get in to the game some things change from that aspect of it, and you see how it goes. But again, he hasn’t played football in a while, so that’s definitely a factor.” It sounds like Scarbrough is expected to play through his questionable tag today, and it sounds like Detroit coaches will go in not planning to overwork Johnson. Combine the murky outlook with a negative matchup at Denver, and you get a fantasy backfield best avoided for Week 16.

The Lions have activated RB Kerryon Johnson from IR. HC Matt Patrcia said earlier in the week that the team would be "smart" with Johnson if he returned from his knee injury. The smart thing to do with your fantasy football lineup seems to be avoiding the Detroit backfield altogether in Sunday's negative matchup with the Broncos.

The Athletic's Chris Burke reports that Lions RB Kerryon Johnson is expected to return for Sunday's game against the Broncos. He's been on IR since injuring his knee in Week 7 but is eligible to be activated this week. It's entirely uncertain how big a role Johnson will play, though. And in Denver vs. the league's 10th-ranked RB defense, he'd just a desperation fantasy play.

Lions RB Kerryon Johnson (knee) returned to practice on Wednesday. He's eligible to come off IR for Week 16 -- although it'd make little sense for the 3-8-1 Lions to bring him back. Johnson is only worth stashing in deep fantasy leagues. If he plays Week 16, it'd be against a solid Broncos run defense.

Lions RB Kerryon Johnson will be placed on IR after undergoing a procedure on his injured knee, HC Matt Patricia announced on Tuesday. The team hopes to get Johnson back this season, but he's out until at least Week 16. So he can be dropped in redraft leagues. We'll see if Detroit adds anything to its backfield, but for now it'll be Ty Johnson as the lead back and J.D. McKissic as the change-of-pace. Johnson has a shot at RB2 value the rest of the way and is a priority add off waiver wires this week.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Lions RB Kerryon Johnson is expected to miss "some time" with his knee injury. "For now, Johnson will be called week to week," Schefter adds. That's the only update we've gotten on Johnson today, so we're still somewhat in the dark here. We can at least say that Johnson will miss Sunday's game against the Giants. That'll leave Ty Johnson as Detroit's lead back and J.D. McKissic as the #2.

Lions RB Kerryon Johnson suffered a knee injury in the 1st half of Sunday's game against the Vikings and is questionable to return. We'll pass along an update when we get one. Johnson's absence leaves Detroit with RBs Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic.

The Lions have released RB C.J. Anderson and signed RB Paul Perkins. Anderson played 29% of Detroit's offensive snaps and handled 11 carries in Week 1. But he dipped to a 20% snap rate and 5 carries in Week 2. He averaged an ugly 2.7 yards on his 16 attempts. Perkins hasn't tallied a regular-season touch since 2017 and sports a career 3.6 yards-per-attempt average. He shouldn't be a big factor in this backfield. We'd consider this move good news for RB Kerryon Johnson, although it looks like Detroit wants to get RB Ty Johnson involved, too.