John

Kuhn

Kuhn spent 2018 out of the league. The 36-year-old spent 9-of-12 years with the Packers after opening his career with one season in Pittsburgh and finishing it with two in New Orleans. Kuhn scored 28 career touchdowns, stabbing fantasy footballers in the hearts along the way with his out-of-nowhere goal-line plunges.

“We’ll see how the game goes,” McCarthy said. “Our primary rotation will be with James Starks and John Kuhn. And Alex (Green) will get in there at some point.” Kuhn has already vultured two one-yard touchdowns, but the Packers have been leaning toward a hot-hand backfield all season. Kuhn has exceeded nine carries once in his career. If Starks starts hot, he’s likely to remain the primary ball carrier in this favorable running-game matchup.

Kuhn was in obvious pain on the sideline, and the Packers have deemed his return “questionable.” James Starks has experienced a bump in playing time.

“He knows for sure he is not playing. He told me that today,” Kuhn’s father said. “He has to stay off his knee for a number of weeks.” Kuhn also told his father that the injury was not career-threatening, and nothing was torn. The 29-year-old should be back to full health in time for OTAs.

Ryan Grant will start and handle most of the early-down work as a flex play. John Kuhn will play on a lot of third downs and get all the goal-line work, making him a desperation option in deeper formats. The rest of the Packers’ inactives: QB Graham Harrell, WR Greg Jennings, T Chad Clifton, DE Ryan Pickett and LB Desmond Bishop.

It’s the best possible news for the would-be Pro Bowler, and means he should be back to 100 percent well before training camp. Kuhn signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract in July before leading the Packers in rushing TDs this season.

Kuhn got some extra work thanks to James Starks leaving early, but we know where his value is. The 250-pounder got two goal-line chances today, converting the second one by running behind B.J. Raji and pushing the pile for a third-quarter touchdown. Kuhn now has six touchdowns in 11 games.

Coach Mike McCarthy stated that Starks would have to practice to play against the Raiders, so it looks like the Packers will go with three-headed hydra of Ryan Grant, Brandon Saine, and John Kuhn. We prefer Saine as a flex option in standard-scoring and PPR formats while Kuhn is worth a look in extreme touchdown-heavy leagues.

No surprise here. Starks hasn’t been able to get his ankle healthy after first injuring it nearly six weeks ago. At this point, the Packers have to be second-guessing the decision not to play it more conservatively. We suspect John Kuhn and Brandon Saine will take the majority of the carries against the Lions.

It was originally reported as a nebulous “MCL injury” back in January. Kuhn still won’t discuss specifics, though it was obviously more serious than a sprain. The touchdown vulture expects to be eased into camp if doctors allow him to participate from the start. “I feel healthy enough,” said Kuhn. “But sometimes you feel healthy enough and coaches and doctors want to be cautious. We’ll see.”