Walton is expected to remain the Bengals' top backup running back Sunday against the Dolphins with Joe Mixon (knee) returning from a two-game absence and Giovani Bernard (knee) likely to be sidelined for 2-to-4 weeks, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
While Mixon was out, Bernard stepped in as the Bengals' lead back, leaving Walton to handle the No. 2 role. Bernard essentially served as a three-down workhorse in both of those contests, as Walton only garnered seven touches (five carries, two receptions) while seeing the field for only 35 of a possible 138 offensive snaps (25 percent). Mixon should ultimately dominate the snaps much like Bernard had, but coach Marvin Lewis suggested that Mixon would be eased back into the mix after his conditioning dipped while he was sidelined with the injury. With that in mind, Walton might take on a slightly more expanded workload Sunday than he had in either of the previous two games, though probably not a large enough role for him to be a usable fantasy option in most settings.