Who Should I Start? JuJu Smith-Schuster or Calvin Ridley

Thursday, May 2, 2:33 PM

Starting next month, the New England Patriots could cut wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster at a cost of $9.6 million in dead money and no salary cap relief, per Over the Cap, while releasing him before then would incur $2.6 million more in dead money and take a small chunk out of their league-leading $54 million cap room. If the Pats traded Smith-Schuster after June 1, they'd save almost $7 million in cap space and clear room for their young receivers to see more playing time. New England could prioritize playing time for rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, plus 2023 sixth-rounder Demario Douglas. It all means that Smith-Schuster may no longer be the team's No. 2 receiver, especially with Kendrick Bourne and K.J. Osborn also on the roster.

Tuesday, March 26, 2:09 PM

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley is expected to see a lot of targets in his first year with the team in 2024. "You're looking at a very similar role to what Ja'Marr Chase played," Titans head coach Brian Callahan said. The new Titans head coach previously coached Chase as the offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. Ridley might not be the overall talent that Chase is, but his fantasy price is going to go up considerably if the Titans indeed use Ridley similarly to how Chase is used in Cincinnati. With the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, the 29-year-old was mostly used as a deep threat on the outside and finished with the second 1,000-yard season of his career and eight touchdowns in 17 starts. If he's running more intermediate routes out of the slot in 2024, Ridley's fantasy ceiling could be even higher.