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Johnson is expected to serve as the Texans' lead back in Sunday's game against the Browns with David Johnson (concussion) trending in the wrong direction for the contest, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports. "Duke [can] take the load. I think we'll like what we see from him doing that job," interim head coach Romeo Crennel said Tuesday.
The Texans haven't officially ruled David out for the Week 10 contest, but since he wasn't able to practice Wednesday after sustaining the head injury three days earlier in the team's 27-25 win over the Jaguars, he'll face an uphill battle to clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol before the weekend. After David exited with the concussion on the Texans' first drive of last week's game, Duke stepped in and played 52 of the team's 64 offensive snaps and finished with 16 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown and four receptions for 32 yards on four targets. Meanwhile, third-stringer Buddy Howell only took five offensive snaps, and neither he nor the Texans' lone other healthy option at running back, Scottie Phillips, should be serious threats to poach work from Duke. With all that in mind, a three-down role likely awaits Duke in Week 10, making him worthy of at least a short-term pickup in just about any season-long format.
