Who Should I Start? Trey Benson or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Monday, November 3, 12:35 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) injured the meniscus in his knee in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers and had surgery, forcing him to Injured Reserve. Bensons was initially given a four- to six-week timeline to return after having surgery. He remains on IR and will miss his fourth straight game when the Cardinals take on the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night in Week 9. Benson will be eligible to return for the Week 10 contest against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks, but it's unclear if that is in play for the second-year back. "He's doing well. He's getting better," head coach Jonathan Gannon said on Saturday. Once the Cardinals designate Benson to return from IR and he rejoins the team at practice, they will have 21 days to officially activate him back to the active roster. He was the team's leading rusher with 160 yards on 29 carries through four games before getting hurt. Until Benson can return, the Cardinals will go with a timeshare between Bam Knight and Michael Carter at RB.

Tuesday, November 4, 4:40 PM

Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has struggled over the past month after a hot start to the season. The rookie has recorded 51 carries for 151 yards, no touchdowns, and a lost fumble while adding just three receptions (five targets) for nine yards in his past four games. Croskey-Merritt was outproduced by third-year back Chris Rodriguez Jr. in Washington's blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. Rodriguez could be earning his way back into a more prominent role on early downs while veteran Jeremy McNichols handles the pass-down responsibilities. Croskey-Merritt has been held below four yards per carry in each of the last four games and has a longest run of just 11 yards in that time. Now, with star quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow) out for an extended period of time, the Washington offense as a whole takes a significant hit. Croskey-Merritt doesn't catch passes, and now that the explosive runs have dried up, it's left fantasy managers with a disappointing result. After a promising start to his career, Croskey-Merritt looks more like an RB3/RB4 option than the potential league winner he appeared to be earlier in the year.