Who Should I Start? Bucky Irving or Kimani Vidal

Tuesday, September 16, 12:19 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was busy Monday night against Houston, handling 17 carries for 71 yards while adding six receptions for 50 yards in the pass game. Irving was the engine of Tampa Bay's offense against Houston's stout defense, consistently making defenders miss and finding positive yardage. The star's second year back forced 11 missed tackles, including five on receptions in Monday night's game, the most in his career, according to NFL Pro. Mayfield was under a ton of pressure and took four sacks overall against one of the league's best pass rush groups, and he often resorted to Irving as a safety valve. Rachaad White handled more work than he did in Week 1 and ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown after Mayfield drove them down to the goal line. Otherwise, Irving still had a highly productive fantasy outing and remains Tampa Bay's lead back. He should be viewed as a rock-solid RB1 moving forward with his high-value touch role.

Wednesday, August 27, 10:45 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers waived running back Kimani Vidal on Tuesday, but Vidal is expected to return to the team via its practice squad, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. With Najee Harris (eye) able to avoid a trip to the NFI list, Vidal lost the battle with Hassan Haskins for the third and final running back slot on the Chargers' active roster. Los Angeles drafted Vidal in the sixth round in 2024, and he recorded 217 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on 48 total touches as a rookie. The soon-to-be 24-year-old could get a second chance to make an impact with the team if a backfield injury leads to his activation from the practice squad, but he should remain off the radar of fantasy managers for the time being.