Who Should I Start? Rhamondre Stevenson or James Cook

Friday, January 3, 11:03 PM

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson remains an unreliable fantasy option heading into Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Buffalo Bills. Stevenson was effectively benched last Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers. While he did log the first touch of the game, he finished the contest with just two carries for one yard while Antonio Gibson rushed the ball 12 times. Gibson has led the Patriots' backfield in snaps for two consecutive weeks, which is the product of Stevenson's poor ball security this season, including a costly Week 16 fumble against the Bills. The Patriots have been somewhat quiet about their personnel decision for Sunday's regular-season finale, but we would expect Stevenson to remain in the doghouse. He's not a dependable fantasy option as the Patriots' season wraps up.

Tuesday, May 27, 1:04 PM

NFL Network' Cameron Wolfe reports that every Buffalo Bills player is present for organized team activities on Tuesday except for running back James Cook, who is seeking a new long-term contract extension. We're still in the voluntary portion of the offseason schedule, so Cook won't be fined, but the 25-year-old wants the team to reward him with an extension as he heads into the final year of his rookie deal. The next change for Cook to show up will be for mandatory minicamp, which runs from June 10-12. It's unclear if Cook plans on holding out into training camp this summer if he doesn't have a new contract by then, but if he reports and is active for Week 1 of the 2025 regular season, he'll be Buffalo's clear RB1 after his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season and a league-high 16 rushing TDs in 2024. Fantasy managers should expect TD regression for the two-time Pro Bowler.