Who Should I Start? Trey Benson or Omarion Hampton

Wednesday, December 10, 12:00 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) will not be activated off Injured Reserve for the team's Week 15 matchup against the Houston Texans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Since Benson will not return within his 21-day activation window, he will revert to season-ending IR and will not be eligible to return in 2025. Benson suffered a knee injury in Week 4 that was serious enough to land him on IR, but was not thought at the time to be season-ending. It's unclear whether the 23-year-old suffered a setback once his activation window was opened, or if the 3-10 Cardinals are simply choosing to be cautious with their potential running back of the future. Either way, Benson should now be completely off the radar of redraft fantasy managers for the remainder of 2025. His absence ups the value of Cardinals running backs Bam Knight and Michael Carter, who should continue to see the majority of the team's backfield snaps. Emari Demercado (ankle) could play a role in Arizona as well once he returns from the ankle injury that has sidelined him since Week 11.

Wednesday, December 10, 10:36 AM

Los Angeles Chargers rookie first-round running back Omarion Hampton returned in Week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles and looked healthy, recording 13 carries for 56 yards to go with two receptions (two targets) for 11 yards and his first career receiving touchdown on Monday night. Hampton played firmly behind Kimani Vidal in his first game back since suffering a fractured ankle in Week 5, with Vidal playing 68.9% of the snaps to Hampton's 31.1%, but the split in touches was pretty much even. The rookie first-rounder's workload should gradually increase in the coming weeks now that he's fully healthy, though Vidal will maintain a role with how well he performed in Hampton's absence. Hampton is now averaging 15.3 PPR points per game in six games this season and will profile as a high-upside RB2 in a Week 15 divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.