Who Should I Start? Ty Montgomery or Saquon Barkley

Friday, December 8, 7:36 PM

The New England Patriots waived running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery on Friday, a day after their Thursday night upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 14, Montgomery was only on the field for a total of six offensive snaps and caught one pass for 17 yards on two targets in the 21-18 win. The 30-year-old veteran had a mere three rushing attempts for nine yards and five catches on 12 targets for 40 yards in his 13 games with the Patriots this year. Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) is expected to miss some more time with a high-ankle sprain, leaving Ezekiel Elliott as their lead back moving forward. He'll be backed up by JaMycal Hasty and Kevin Harris with Montgomery now out of the picture in New England.

Monday, March 11, 2:57 PM

Free-agent running back Saquon Barkley is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The deal includes $26 million in guaranteed money and has an additional $9 million available in incentives. After a 2018 rookie season that saw the former Penn State star go for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns, he has struggled to stay healthy over a chunk of the next five years of his career. He missed 21 games from 2019 to 2021. He bounced back in 2022 with 1,312 rushing yards but regressed to 962 yards in 14 games in 2023. However, the Eagles believe in him as a game-changing running back, as his average salary ($12.58 million) ranks only below Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Jonathan Taylor. Although the Eagles' offensive line could take a hit after the retirement of Jason Kelce, Barkley should be playing behind the best offensive line of his career in 2024. He will have an immediate high-end RB1 upside in fantasy football.