Who Should I Start? Brett Maher or Saquon Barkley

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.

Monday, March 11, 2:57 PM

Free-agent running back Saquon Barkley is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The deal includes $26 million in guaranteed money and has an additional $9 million available in incentives. After a 2018 rookie season that saw the former Penn State star go for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns, he has struggled to stay healthy over a chunk of the next five years of his career. He missed 21 games from 2019 to 2021. He bounced back in 2022 with 1,312 rushing yards but regressed to 962 yards in 14 games in 2023. However, the Eagles believe in him as a game-changing running back, as his average salary ($12.58 million) ranks only below Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Jonathan Taylor. Although the Eagles' offensive line could take a hit after the retirement of Jason Kelce, Barkley should be playing behind the best offensive line of his career in 2024. He will have an immediate high-end RB1 upside in fantasy football.