Who Should I Start? Brett Maher or Eddy Piñeiro

Monday, January 1, 7:38 PM

The Los Angeles Rams are signing veteran kicker Brett Maher on Monday after waiving rookie Lucas Havrisik earlier in the day. Maher began the year as the Rams' kicker and played in the first seven weeks before getting cut on Oct. 24, going 17-for-23 (73.9 percent) on his field-goal opportunities and 12-for-13 with his extra points. Havrisik was cut by the Rams on Monday after missing two of his four extra points in a one-point win over the New York Giants on Sunday. LA just has been unable to settle on a kicker all season, but Maher will hope to come back in and be more successful than he was earlier in the year as the team gets ready for another playoff appearance. In the Week 18 regular season finale against the San Francisco 49ers with key starters potentially being rested, Maher should be avoided for fantasy lineups.

Saturday, October 25, 6:33 AM

San Francisco 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro has evolved from a streaming option into a weekly starter. Pineiro now ranks third among kickers in total fantasy points and is at the top of the leaderboard in fantasy points per game. In San Francisco's 20-10 win over Atlanta last week, Pineiro was good on all four of his kicks. He connected on both extra point attempts as well as his field goal tries, the first from 55 yards out and the second from 43. The 55-yarder was his fifth field goal from 50 or more yards away, tying his previous season-long best, set in 2023. In Week 8, Pineiro runs into the Houston Texans, who have seen opponents make just four field goals on ten attempts. San Francisco has done well at advancing into enemy territory, so even if they struggle against Houston's elite defense, Pineiro should be set up for another good day.