Should I Start Samaje Perine?

Tuesday, September 22, 11:12 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine is not seeing enough work to help fantasy lineups while Chase Brown is healthy, and Week 2 made that pretty clear. Perine carried twice for six yards and caught one pass for 16 yards against Houston after getting eight touches in the opener. Through two games, he has seven carries for 26 yards and four catches for 46 yards while playing 34.2% of the offensive snaps. Brown, meanwhile, has 36 carries and eight receptions and owns a 70.7% snap share. Perine's value is tied much more to what would happen if Brown missed time. Tahj Brooks has yet to push him out of the No. 2 spot, and Perine has enough receiving experience to take on more work if needed. RotoBaller lists him among its secondary Week 3 running back options and also places him in the pure handcuff group. He is a bench stash for managers looking for backfield insurance, not someone to start while Brown is handling this much of the offense.