Who Should I Start? Eddy Pineiro or Chase McLaughlin

Sunday, January 7, 11:42 AM

Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro (hamstring) is officially inactive for Week 18 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This news was widely expected after the Panthers listed him as doubtful heading into the weekend. The 28-year-old had appeared in Carolina's previous 16 games this season, converting 86 percent of his field goals. This week, he'll be replaced by Matthew Wright, who remains off the fantasy radar given the Panthers' ongoing offensive struggles.

Monday, March 11, 5:15 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to an undisclosed three-year deal to re-sign kicker Chase McLaughlin on Monday, according to a source. McLaughlin will stay with the Buccaneers after going 29-for-31 on his field-goal attempts and 33-for-33 on his extra points in 17 regular-season games. The 27-year-old's success rate on field goals last year set a new single-season record, so it's no wonder why Tampa wanted the kicker back for another go-round in 2024 as their primary kicker. From a fantasy perspective, McLaughlin finished as the No. 16 kicker in terms of overall fantasy points in 2023. The Bucs offense should remain largely the same this year with quarterback Baker Mayfield and top wideout Mike Evans sticking around, so McLaughlin should enter the year as a matchup-based streamer at the kicking position in fantasy.