Who Should I Start? Ameer Abdullah or Kimani Vidal

Friday, August 16, 6:48 PM

The Athletic's Tashan Reed writes that Las Vegas Raiders running backs Ameer Abdullah and rookie sixth-rounder Dylan Laube are in a position battle to determine who will be the third-down running back behind Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. Neither Abdullah nor Laube made much of an impact in the preseason opener last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings, so the competition remains a toss-up as of right now. The 31-year-old Abdullah probably has a leg up just because of his familiarity with the offense after catching 19 of his 24 targets in 2023 for 131 yards in 17 games played. However, unless one of White or Mattison miss time with an injury this year, it's hard to foresee Abdulla or Laube having much fantasy appeal outside of very deep PPR leagues.

Sunday, September 8, 3:20 PM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal and wide receiver Brenden Rice have officially been ruled inactive on Sunday. Vidal has been making strides to make his way onto the roster and was thought to be in the mix to get meaningful snaps along with Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. Hassan Haskins will be the one to move into the third-string role in the backfield. In terms of Brenden Rice, he was also expected to get some snaps as the fourth wideout but will miss the season opener. Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer, and Ladd McConkey will see the bulk of the opportunities in the receiving corps. Vidal and Rice's statuses will be something to monitor heading into Week 2, but they're more viable as stashes in dynasty formats right now.