Who Should I Start? Travis Homer or Israel Abanikanda

Monday, March 17, 10:03 PM

Free-agent running back Travis Homer re-signed with the Chicago Bears on Monday on a one-year, $2 million deal, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Homer will be back for a third year in the Windy City and is currently the No. 3 behind D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. The 26-year-old former sixth-round selection (204th overall) by the Seattle Seahawks in 2019 out of the University of Miami (FL) saw a grand total of six rushing attempts for 23 yards while catching three of four targets for 11 yards in 26 games (no starts) over the last two years in Chicago, so he hasn't been a very big part of the offense. A hamstring injury kept him sidelined for the final three games in 2024, but he should be good to go for training camp this summer. Homer will once again be nowhere near the fantasy radar for the Bears heading into 2025 drafts.

Monday, September 9, 7:44 PM

New York Jets running back Israel Abanikanda is a healthy scratch for the team's Week 1 regular-season opener at Levi's Stadium on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Abanikanda enters the 2024 season as the team's RB4 behind starter and bell-cow Breece Hall and rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis. As such, the 21-year-old is obviously off the fantasy radar in most single-year leagues for the time being unless injuries push him into a relevant game-day role. The former fifth-round pick out of Pittsburgh last year was also buried on the depth chart in his rookie season and finished with 22 carries for 70 yards while catching seven passes for 43 yards in only six games. Abanikanda has breakaway speed but is once again buried on the depth chart and will have to wait for his opportunity beyond Week 1.