Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or Terrell Jennings

Monday, December 15, 10:27 AM

After missing three games with an ankle injury, Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado returned to the lineup in Week 15 against the Houston Texans. The 26-year-old played a minimal role against Houston, recording one scrimmage yard on three touches. However, Cardinals running back Bam Knight (ankle) suffered an ankle injury that knocked him out of the game and required him to be carted off the field. If Knight misses further time, Demercado could step into a more prominent role in the Arizona backfield alongside Michael Carter, who led the team with 18 touches in Week 15. Across 10 games this season, Demercado has racked up 306 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 42 touches. Before suffering the ankle injury, he had out-snapped Carter in two consecutive games. The Cardinals' backfield remains one of the league's more difficult lineup situations to parse. Still, Demercado could be a player to target on the waiver wire heading into his Week 16 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

Saturday, December 13, 11:07 AM

New England Patriots running back Terrell Jennings (concussion) has been placed on injured reserve and will miss the final four games of the regular season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport adds that the Patriots expect Jennings to return for the team's playoff run. Jennings impressed while sharing touches with TreVeyon Henderson for a small stretch of games earlier this season, but he fell back to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart when Rhamondre Stevenson returned to action in Week 13. The 24-year-old has been a solid depth option within this backfield, amassing 73 rushing yards, nine receiving yards, and one touchdown through seven games. New England lacks reliable backfield depth behind Henderson and Stevenson now that Jennings, Antonio Gibson (knee), Deneric Prince (undisclosed), and Craig Reynolds (undisclosed) are all sidelined for extended periods of time. The Patriots will likely elevate D'Ernest Johnson from the practice squad to replace Jennings for Week 15.