Who Should I Start? River Cracraft or Khadarel Hodge

Monday, August 19, 1:02 PM

Dolphins wide receiver River Cracraft (upper-body) is sidelined with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss some time in the regular season. Cracraft had a strong summer in his third season with Miami and seemed likely to start as the third receiver behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, especially with Odell Beckham Jr. (undisclosed) still on the PUP list. However, Cracraft's injury raises the possibility that he could be placed on injured reserve when the Dolphins finalize their 53-man roster. By August 27, the Dolphins will have three options for handling Cracraft: keep him on the 53-man roster until he recovers, initially include him on the roster and then place him on IR on August 28, or put him on IR immediately, which would count as one of the two IR moves allowed on cutdown day under new NFL rules. This situation simplifies the roster decisions and opens up a spot for Erik Ezukanma, who had an impressive preseason debut against Washington. If the Dolphins keep six wide receivers, Ezukanma could join Hill, Waddle, Beckham, Braxton Berrios, and rookie Malik Washington, who will secure a spot on the roster. With these receiver injuries, Hill and Waddle will likely see even more targets, boosting Hill's value as the top overall pick in redraft leagues.

Thursday, September 7, 12:25 AM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge (ankle) was limited in Wednesday's practice. Hodge injured his ankle in Atlanta's second preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals when he was twisted to the ground by a defender. Although the wideout didn't practice on Monday, his limited participation on Wednesday has him trending in the right direction for the season opener. Hodge caught 13 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown with Atlanta in 2022. He comes in as the Falcons' WR4 if he suits up in Week 1.