Who Should I Start? Jordan Mason or Pierre Strong Jr.

Saturday, December 7, 12:22 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (ankle), who still hasn't been placed on Injured Reserve, was officially ruled out for the Week 14 game against the Chicago Bears this Sunday after missing practice all week. Mason suffered a high-ankle sprain in last Sunday night's loss to the Buffalo Bills and is expected to eventually land on IR, which would require him to miss at least four games. The 25-year-old will likely go on IR before the deadline on Saturday, which will make him eligible to return for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Arizona Cardinals. With fantasy championships typically coming in Week 17, Mason should have already been dropped in redraft leagues. With Christian McCaffrey (knee) also done for the season, rookie Isaac Guerendo is now the 49ers' lead back, and he'll have immediate RB2 upside in his first NFL start this Sunday versus Chicago.

Wednesday, January 1, 3:32 PM

Cleveland Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. (concussion) missed a second straight day of practice this week on Wednesday. Strong suffered a concussion in the Week 17 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday and is now in the league's concussion protocol. With two straight DNPs this week and a meaningless Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens on a short week on Saturday, it's looking unlikely that the 26-year-old will suit up for the last game of the season. In addition to Strong, Jerome Ford (ankle) has yet to practice this week and could also be out this weekend. If both Ford and Strong are unavailable for the Browns, D'Onta Foreman would most likely see the lion's share of work in the backfield in a bad Browns offense, with John Kelly in line for backup duties for Cleveland.