Who Should I Start? Michael Thomas or Christian Kirk

Wednesday, September 11, 8:40 PM

The National Football League on Wednesday announced that it has lifted the suspension of free-agent wide receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas was suspended for the first game of the 2024 NFL season for an incident with a construction worker near his home last year. The fact that the 31-year-old remained without a team all offseason is a sign that he may struggle to latch on with an organization despite the fact that he's past his one-game suspension. Just several years ago, Thomas was the best receiver in the league, but injuries have limited him to 20 games since the start of the 2020 campaign, and he played in just 10 games with the New Orleans Saints last year before a knee injury ended his season. He caught 39 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown in 2023. Thomas belongs on the waiver wire in all leagues and is unlikely to be on the fantasy radar in 2024.

Wednesday, September 17, 5:27 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk (hamstring) returned to practice on Wednesday and got in a limited session, per Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle. He is expected to make his team and season debut in Week 3 against his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, after he missed the first two weeks of the season. Fellow wideout Braxton Berrios (hamstring) is also expected to make his season debut this weekend. The 28-year-old Kirk is expected to be Houston's starting slot receiver when healthy, but don't be surprised if they ease him back into action against the Jags. In a Texans offense that has struggled to sustain drives through two weeks, we wouldn't recommend Kirk as anything more than a shaky WR5/flex if he's active on Sunday for his debut with the team. His impending return is bad news for both rookie receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.