Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Trey Benson

Thursday, January 1, 6:31 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (back) was removed from the Week 18 injury report on Thursday and will play on Saturday night against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks, according to Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. McCaffrey has dealt with a bit of back stiffness in the final month of the regular season, but it hasn't been a serious issue, and he'll be fine this weekend as the Niners look to secure the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The 29-year-old is coming off a second straight 100-yard rushing game in the Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, in which he had 23 carries for a season-high 140 yards and one touchdown on the ground. CMC added 41 receiving yards on four catches. He remains the do-it-all focal point of San Fran's offense and is a must-start, high-end RB1 in all fantasy leagues in Week 18.

Wednesday, December 10, 12:00 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) will not be activated off Injured Reserve for the team's Week 15 matchup against the Houston Texans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Since Benson will not return within his 21-day activation window, he will revert to season-ending IR and will not be eligible to return in 2025. Benson suffered a knee injury in Week 4 that was serious enough to land him on IR, but was not thought at the time to be season-ending. It's unclear whether the 23-year-old suffered a setback once his activation window was opened, or if the 3-10 Cardinals are simply choosing to be cautious with their potential running back of the future. Either way, Benson should now be completely off the radar of redraft fantasy managers for the remainder of 2025. His absence ups the value of Cardinals running backs Bam Knight and Michael Carter, who should continue to see the majority of the team's backfield snaps. Emari Demercado (ankle) could play a role in Arizona as well once he returns from the ankle injury that has sidelined him since Week 11.