Who Should I Start? Deandre Carter or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Thursday, March 20, 1:07 PM

The Cleveland Browns signed free-agent wide receiver and return specialist DeAndre Carter (hamstring) to a one-year deal for nearly $800,000 guaranteed on Wednesday, sources told FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz. Carter will head to the AFC North in 2025 after spending the 2024 campaign with the Chicago Bears, where he caught only nine of 14 targets for 72 yards and no touchdowns on offense over 13 games (no starts). The 31-year-old will most likely be more of an asset to the Browns on special teams as a kick returner than he will be on offense, as he hasn't had more than 46 catches, 538 yards or three touchdowns in a single season during his seven NFL seasons. Carter missed the final four games last year with a hamstring injury but should be good to go for training camp this summer. He had 17 punt returns for 158 yards and 15 kickoff returns for 479 yards for the Bears in 2024.

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.