Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel or Rashee Rice

Wednesday, May 1, 2:04 PM

The San Francisco 49ers were engaged in trade talks involving wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel leading up to the draft, but the team elected not to trade either of their star receivers, with all signs pointing toward both being on the 2024 roster. Aiyuk is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the assumption was that he'd be the odd man out after the team paid Samuel and other star players. Samuel still has two years left on the deal he signed before the 2022 season. San Fran has been to at least the NFC Championship game in four of the last five seasons, and losing Aiyuk or Samuel would almost certainly make the team worse in 2024. The 49ers can afford to keep both this year, but an Aiyuk extension would likely reduce his $14.124 million salary cap number for 2024. Samuel's fantasy value would have likely taken a hit with a move out of the Bay Area.

Tuesday, May 21, 2:18 PM

The photographer who said that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice punched him has asked the police to drop the charges. It's good news for Rice, who has had an eventful offseason off the field, to say the least. However, the 24-year-old second-year pass-catcher is still likely facing a suspension after he left the scene of a six-car accident in Dallas in late March. Rice is facing charges of aggravated assault, collision involving serious bodily injury and collision involving injury. We don't know exactly how many games Rice is going to be suspended to start the 2024 season, but the impending suspension is obviously bad news for his fantasy value after he won a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season and had a 79-938-7 line in 16 regular-season games (eight starts).