Who Should I Start? Jason Sanders or Evan McPherson

Tuesday, August 26, 5:18 PM

The Miami Dolphins placed kicker Jason Sanders (hip) on the Injured Reserve on Tuesday due to a hip injury, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It means that Sanders will be forced to miss at least the first four games of the 2025 season. It was announced on Monday that Sanders would miss four to five weeks, so his placement on the short-term IR isn't a huge surprise. Fantasy managers should obviously be avoiding the 29-year-old kicker in all leagues to begin the season. It's unclear who will kick for the Dolphins in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Sept. 7, but whoever it is will merely be a deep-league streaming option in fantasy. Miami did work out kicker Eddy Pineiro on Tuesday. Sanders has spent all seven of his NFL seasons with the Dolphins and has made 84.6% of his 221 field-goal attempts over 116 games played.

Saturday, September 13, 2:51 PM

Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson made his only kick attempt, a 35-yarder, in the Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns. He also made both extra-point attempts. The Bengals offense had issues getting anything going in the opener, with quarterback Joe Burrow tossing for 113 yards off a miserable 14-for-23 passing (60.9%). Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins also struggled, combining for five receptions. With that in mind, a poor offensive showing in divisional matchups hasn't been that uncommon for Cincy over the years, so there's reason to believe a turnaround for Burrow and company could be on the horizon. If the signal-caller can lead the offense into the Red Zone more often than he did against the Browns (there's a good chance he will), McPherson should be more productive in Week 2, making him a practical choice for any fantasy lineup.