Who Should I Start? Tee Higgins or Dameon Pierce

Sunday, September 8, 12:04 PM

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) is officially inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday versus the New England Patriots. Higgins injured his hamstring in practice on Thursday and was listed as doubtful on Friday's final Week 1 injury report, so fantasy managers should have already moved him to their benches for the week. The good news for Cincy is that WR1 Ja'Marr Chase is active on Sunday after holding in for all of training camp and the preseason. Chase is expected to be on a pitch count, meaning receivers Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin and tight end Mike Gesicki could be more involved than usual in the season opener with Higgins also out. Higgins, who was a big fantasy disappointment last year, is not off to a good start in 2024, and it remains to be seen if he'll be available for a Week 2 showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tuesday, August 27, 2:46 PM

It was clear early last season that running back Dameon Pierce wasn't a fit in the Houston Texans' zone-blocking system, making Year 2 a frustrating one for the power back. Things haven't changed this preseason for Pierce, who won't start now that Joe Mixon is back at practice, and Cam Akers has impressed in recent action in his bid to make the roster. Dare Ogunbowale seems like a lock for his special-teams and third-down value, and Houston might still want to develop rookie Jawhar Jordan rather than lose him to the waiver wire. While it's unlikely the Texans would release Pierce, he remains a trade candidate and still could be a solid reserve. The 24-year-old was approaching 1,000 rushing yards as a rookie before his season-ending injury in 2022. If an RB-needy team such as the Dallas Cowboys offered a late-round pick for him, it wouldn't be shocking to see Houston pull the trigger.