Who Should I Start? Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Bub Means

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.

Wednesday, August 13, 6:12 PM

The New Orleans Saints placed wide receiver Bub Means (leg) on season-ending Injured Reserve on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Means suffered a serious lower-leg injury in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday and will now miss the entire 2025 season. Before his injury on Sunday, he caught one pass for a gain of 12 yards. It's definitely a blow to the Saints receiving corps after the 24-year-old fifth-rounder last year caught nine of his 15 targets for 118 yards and one touchdown in seven games (one start) in his rookie season. Means also missed the final nine games of his first year in the league with an ankle injury, so he has quickly developed an injury-prone label. Means will now rehab his leg in hopes of being ready for the start of the 2026 season.