Christine Michael Fantasy Value After Signing With Seahawks

He’s baaaaack.

After his tour of the NFC East, which included unsuccessful stops with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, talented-but-disappointing running back Christine Michael has re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks, who traded him to Dallas back in September.

With Thomas Rawls out for the season and Marshawn Lynch still sidelined, the Seahawks have been scrambling for bodies to help fill the depth chart at RB. The result is Michael, Fred Jackson and Bryce Brown.

Pete Carroll discussed why Michael was brought back:

Michael is an enigma. He’s athletic and talented, yes, but he has failed time and time again to take advantage of opportunities in the past–couldn’t pass Robert Turbin on the depth in Seattle or Dallas, couldn’t make it off the practice squad in Washington–and has been thoroughly disappointing for a second-round pick.

For fantasy purposes, he and Brown are both stashes. Brown should get the first crack at carries, while Michael may be more familiar with the Seahawks playbook.

If either received a full compliment of touches, they would be in the RB1 mix against Cleveland’s soft run defense. For that kind of upside, they should both be owned, but until we get a better idea of how the carries will be divided (fullback Derrick Coleman will also be in the mix, per Carroll), neither can be trusted in your starting lineup.

And if you can only pick one, it has to be Brown, who is likely to start. Michael has let this kind of opportunity slip away too many times already.