Should I Start Samaje Perine?

Tuesday, September 8, 9:12 AM

After rushing for 382 yards and three touchdowns on a 4.5-yard-per-carry average a year ago, Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine appears poised to enter his 10th season as the primary backup to Chase Brown. With little in-game information to go off of, proactive fantasy managers with the luxury of deep benches should be looking to churn through the backs of their rosters, targeting players whose waiver value would see the greatest jump as the result of a Week 1 injury ahead of them, and Perine fits that bill. 2025 sixth-round pick Tahj Brooks, who carried the ball 16 times for only 45 yards as a rookie, is the only other running back on the Bengals' 53-man roster, making Perine a potentially valuable handcuff to roster who can easily be moved on from as more obvious waiver candidates emerge after Week 1.