Who Should I Start? Kyle Philips or Brenden Rice

Tuesday, February 18, 8:54 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders signed free-agent wide receiver Kyle Philips to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Philips, a former fifth-round selection by the Tennessee Titans in 2022 out of UCLA will head to the AFC West after spending all of the 2024 campaign on the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2022 and 2023, he caught only 23 of 35 targets for 259 yards and no touchdowns in 13 games played (no starts). The 25-year-old pass-catcher also saw time on special teams as a kickoff and punt returner, which will probably be his best path to a roster spot with the Raiders. Philips will be reuniting with his old head coach at UCLA in Chip Kelly, who is now the Raiders' offensive coordinator under new head coach Pete Carroll. Philips's familiarity with Kelly won't guarantee him a roster spot out of training camp, though.

Tuesday, August 27, 7:41 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers announced on Tuesday that rookie wide receiver Brenden Rice and safeties Tony Jefferson and JT Woods were among the players that made the final 53-man roster heading into the 2024 regular season. Rice made the final cut after impressive during training camp and the preseason. The 22-year-old son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was taken in the seventh round of April's NFL draft out of USC. He might be worth stashing in deep dynasty/keeper leagues, but for his rookie season, he'll merely be a depth option for the Bolts behind Joshua Palmer, DJ Chark, rookie Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Simi Fehoko and Derius Davis. Rice excels with his route-running and also plays with a physical style on contested catches down the field. Initially, he might be a red-zone weapon for a new-look Chargers offense in 2024.