Who Should I Start? Derrick Henry or James Cook

Tuesday, April 1, 10:50 PM

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that he'd like the team to extend running back Derrick Henry, who is heading into the last year of his current deal in 2025. It comes after Henry signed a two-year, $16 million deal last offseason and said in February that he'd like to finish his career in Baltimore. It makes sense for both sides after King Henry didn't show any signs of slowing down in 2024 with 1,921 rushing yards and a league-high 16 rushing touchdowns on 325 carries while adding 19 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns through the air in 17 regular-season starts. It was good enough to make him the RB3 in half-PPR scoring, behind only Jahmyr Gibbs and Saquon Barkley. Father Time is undefeated, but Henry is a different beast and pairs extremely well with quarterback Lamar Jackson's rushing ability. Henry is still much more attractive in standard-scoring fantasy leagues, but either way, he's a high-end RB1.

Tuesday, April 8, 11:18 PM

Despite a contract impasse with the Buffalo Bills and the fact that he put his house up for sale in Buffalo, running back James Cook "will play for the Bills next season," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Things are "not great" between Cook and the Bills. The 25-year-old has a $5.3 million salary for the 2025 season, which is the last year of his rookie deal, and he's made it known he's looking for at least $15 million per year. Buffalo would like to sign him to a long-term extension, but at the moment the two sides aren't remotely close in negotiations. The former second-rounder (63rd overall) in 2022 out of Georgia has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns in 16 regular-season games in 2024. Cook will be Buffalo's RB1 again in 2025, but fantasy managers must plan for TD regression, and the Bills could be looking to split the workload more with Ty Johnson and Ray Davis.