Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Ricky Pearsall

Friday, March 14, 1:24 PM

The Houston Texans restructured the contract of new wide receiver Christian Kirk on Friday to lower his salary-cap figure for the 2025 season, league sources told KPRC's Aaron Wilson. Kirk was originally due a $15.5 million base salary that was converted into a $14 million signing bonus while lowering his base salary to the league minimum of $1.17 million. The move creates around $12 million in salary-cap savings for the Texans. Houston had already restructured the contracts for receiver Nico Collins and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, and they are expected to do more restructures to Denico Autry's and Danielle Hunter's contracts. The 28-year-old Kirk ended last year on Injured Reserve due to a broken collarbone but was acquired in a trade with the Jaguars to provide the Texans with a No. 2 wideout behind Nico Collins. With Tank Dell (knee) potentially missing all of 2025, Kirk has a clear path to WR3 value in fantasy in his new home if he's healthy.

Sunday, January 5, 10:47 PM

San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall followed last week's breakout game with another strong showing in Sunday's 47-24 Week 18 loss to the Cardinals in Arizona. The Arizona native caught six of eight targets for 69 yards, including a six-yard touchdown grab on a contested slant pattern from backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Pearsall, who started his 49ers career on a terrifying note -- being shot in the chest during an armed robbery attempt -- had an up-and-down year once he debuted in Week 7. Pearsall produced four fantasy-useful performances in 2024 but seven in which he was held below six half-PPR points. With momentum and the validation of his first-round pedigree this season, Pearsall could be an intriguing late-round fantasy pick in 2025 depending on the health of Brandon Aiyuk's knee, and if Pearsall can move past Jauan Jennings and/or Deebo Samuel Sr. in the 49ers' hierarchy.