Who Should I Start? Samaje Perine or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Saturday, July 25, 5:54 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine will turn 31 years old in September, but he has shown few signs of slowing down. In his return to the Bengals in 2025, he carried the ball 84 times, his most attempts since 2022, and while maintaining a 4.5-yard per carry average, he scored a career-high three rushing touchdowns. Fourth-year player Chase Brown has developed into a true bell cow back, averaging more than 19.6 opportunities per game across his last 30 outings, making Perine's insurance role behind him a potentially important one for fantasy. Rounding out the Bengals' backfield is 2025 sixth-round pick Tahj Brooks, and there's an expectation that should Brown miss time, the second-year player could help to lighten the load rather than turning full control over to Perine. Still, the 10th-year veteran remains an underrated handcuff option and one that would undoubtedly garner attention on the waiver wire in the unfortunate event of injury.