Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Travis Etienne

Tuesday, December 3, 6:08 PM

The San Francisco 49ers officially placed running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday, which means he'll be forced to miss at least the next four games. However, McCaffrey suffered a PCL sprain in his right knee in the Sunday night loss to the Buffalo Bills and is expected to need at least six weeks of recovery time. It means that unless the 49ers pick things up and make a run to the postseason, CMC's injury-plagued 2024 campaign will come to an end. Jordan Mason (ankle) is also on IR with a high-ankle sprain, which will force rookie Isaac Guerendo into the team's lead-back role for at least the next four weeks. With CMC officially on IR, fantasy managers can drop him in redraft leagues. The 28-year-old was a huge bust for fantasy managers this year. He didn't make his season debut until Week 10 due to bilateral Achilles tendonitis and ended up playing in just four games in 2024.

Monday, December 16, 3:45 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. took hold of the lead-back role in Week 15 against the New York Jets. He finished with 85 total yards on 18 touches which consisted of 65 yards on 14 carries and four catches for 20 yards. The 25-year-old back has been mostly overshadowed by fellow back Tank Bigsby, but in this week's matchup with the Jets, he out-touched Bigsby 18 to 11. While it isn't surprising Etienne Jr. was more involved in the passing game, it is surprising he out-carried Bigsby given recent games. That might be because Etienne Jr. has become more efficient at running the ball. In Week 15, Etienne averaged 4.6 yards per carry, while Bigsby averaged 3.8. Etienne Jr. will look to continue separating himself from Bigsby in Week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders.