Who Should I Start? Samaje Perine or Elijah Mitchell

Wednesday, November 12, 12:30 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine (ankle) had the Week 10 bye to rest the high-ankle sprain suffered in the team's Week 9 loss to the Chicago Bears. Head coach Zac Taylor said that Perine would be out a couple of weeks, which puts his status in doubt for Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 30-year-old had been solid in the primary backup role behind Chase Brown, handling 32 carries for 198 yards and a touchdown to go with seven catches on nine targets for 30 yards as a receiver. While it's a small sample size, his 6.2 yards per carry is easily the best of his career and leads all running backs with at least 30 carries this season. Perine is a trusted veteran for his strength in pass protection, and if he's unable to go in Week 11, rookie Tahj Brooks will be expected to fill in as the No.2 behind Brown.

Friday, September 5, 7:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell is a healthy inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Friday night in Brazil against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN. It's bad news for Mitchell heading into his first year with the Chiefs, as it looks like he's the RB4 to open the year, behind starter Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith. The 27-year-old was getting some first-team reps early in training camp, but that was a long time ago in late July. Mitchell signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with KC in the offseason after spending his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three years in the Bay Area, the former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Louisiana averaged 4.7 yards per tote on 327 rush attempts for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (five in his rookie season).