Who Should I Start? Eddy Pineiro or Spencer Shrader

Friday, September 20, 9:54 AM

Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro has found himself at the bottom of fantasy kickers even though it hasn't been his fault. Pineiro has converted on every field and extra point so far, but he's only attempted one field goal in each game and one extra point overall. The Panthers' offense has been abysmal as they haven't even been able to get into field goal range let alone find the end zone at even an average rate. While their quarterback swap may alleviate some of those woes, Pineiro is better left on the bench or the waiver wire until the offense proves it can move the ball down the field. To put things into perspective, Pineiro only has four more fantasy points than Matt Gay and five more than Spencer Shrader, both of whom have only appeared in one game.

Saturday, September 7, 1:25 PM

The Indianapolis Colts elevated rookie kicker Spencer Shrader and cornerback Chris Lammons from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Saturday in advance of the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday against the division-rival Houston Texans. This is a clear sign that starting kicker Matt Gay (hernia), who is listed as questionable for Week 1, will end up being inactive on Sunday morning after he recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia. Gay is questionable to kick on Sunday, but he missed practice all week and is probably more doubtful than anything. Fantasy managers that were planning to use Gay in Week 1 should have already been looking for other options this weekend. Rolling with Shrader in his first NFL game would be unwise given all the other options available on the waiver wire.