Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne or James Cook

Monday, January 6, 11:55 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. struggled to find much space in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He finished with 13 carries for 31 yards as well as three catches for 29 yards. The 25-year-old back out of Clemson had the worst season of his young career, struggling to find efficient yardage in a lackluster offense. While it still seems Etienne Jr. is much better in the passing game than backup Tank Bigsby, Bigsby seemed to take over as the lead rusher and goal-line back. Maybe with a healthy offense and improved roster next season, Etienne Jr. can get back on track, but he will likely still have Bigsby nipping at his heels. Expect Etienne Jr. to remain involved, but not as a workhorse back in the 2025 NFL season.

Tuesday, April 8, 11:18 PM

Despite a contract impasse with the Buffalo Bills and the fact that he put his house up for sale in Buffalo, running back James Cook "will play for the Bills next season," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Things are "not great" between Cook and the Bills. The 25-year-old has a $5.3 million salary for the 2025 season, which is the last year of his rookie deal, and he's made it known he's looking for at least $15 million per year. Buffalo would like to sign him to a long-term extension, but at the moment the two sides aren't remotely close in negotiations. The former second-rounder (63rd overall) in 2022 out of Georgia has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns in 16 regular-season games in 2024. Cook will be Buffalo's RB1 again in 2025, but fantasy managers must plan for TD regression, and the Bills could be looking to split the workload more with Ty Johnson and Ray Davis.