Who Should I Start? Alvin Kamara or Jaylen Warren

Friday, January 2, 3:42 PM

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) has been ruled out for his team's Week 18 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. Kamara suffered a sprained MCL in Week 12 that will ultimately end up causing him to miss New Orleans' final six games of the season. Across 11 contests in 2025, the 30-year-old recorded 657 scrimmage yards and one touchdown on 164 touches. His 3.6 yards per carry and 4.0 yards per touch both represent career lows. With Kamara sidelined and Saints backs Kendre Miller (knee) and Devin Neal (hamstring) on Injured Reserve, New Orleans will likely split backfield work between Audric Estime and Evan Hull in Week 18, with tight end Taysom Hill possibly mixing in as well. Estime functioned as the team's lead back in Week 17, recording 14 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.

Friday, January 9, 5:09 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (illness) returned to a full practice on Friday, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Warren was under the weather and did not practice on Thursday. Now that he's back, he should be ready to rock by Monday night when the Steelers take on the Houston Texans in a Wild-Card playoff matchup. The 27-year-old back finished as the RB17 in half-PPR scoring during the regular season with 958 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 211 carries. He added 40 receptions on 45 targets for 333 receiving yards and two more TDs. Warren will be splitting the backfield workload with Kenneth Gainwell, who has become a bigger part of the offense in the second half of the season. Warren should be considered a low-end RB1 during Wild-Card weekend while going up against a Texans defense that allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards to RBs this year.