Who Should I Start? Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Kameron Johnson

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.

Saturday, September 21, 9:54 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Kameron Johnson (ankle) has officially been ruled out for Sunday's Week 3 home matchup against the Denver Broncos. Johnson started the week with a limited practice on Wednesday before downgrading to a DNP on Thursday and Friday. In anticipation of his absence, Tampa Bay has elevated wide receiver Sterling Shepherd off its practice squad for depth at the position. The 22-year-old rookie has been a distant option for the Bucs so far in 2024, recording the fewest snaps of all wideouts (11) and failing to earn a single target in the passing game. His lone touch on the year was a carry he advanced for no gain. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans will remain the de facto top two targets for Baker Mayfield, with Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer picking up the scraps in a smash spot for the team this weekend.