Another week, and another big-time fantasy football RB lands on the IR. Los Angeles Chargers rookie RB Omarion Hampton was placed on IR due to an ankle injury and will be out for four games. Early reports suggest that he’ll be back when eligible to return from the IR, but until then, we need to figure out who his true RB handcuff is. We’ll let you know who that might be and give you some much-needed insight into the following NFL backfields that need your attention in this week’s RB handcuff report.

 

 

 

Fantasy Football NFL Week 6 Running Back Handcuff Report

Los Angeles Chargers

With Omarion Hampton on the IR (ankle) and forced to miss at least four games, both Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal might have fantasy relevance in Week 6. Chargers RBs have a good matchup against a Miami Dolphins team that was obliterated by Rico Dowdle for 206 rushing yards in Week 5. We’ve been featuring Haskins as Hampton’s RB handcuff on our RB handcuff grid, so we’ll give him the nod. However, the Chargers did draft Vidal in the 2024 NFL Draft, and if Haskins struggles and Vidal gets hot, we may see Vidal temporarily take over as the Chargers’ lead back. The Chargers did sign Nyheim Hines to their practice squad, but it would take another Chargers RB injury before he would get a chance to play meaningful snaps.

Carolina Panthers

We mentioned Rico Dowdle in the previous section, and he certainly did have himself a huge Week 5 performance filling in for the injured Chuba Hubbard (calf). Hubbard’s status for Week 6 is still undetermined as this article is being written. Should he be inactive, Dowdle will get another chance to lead the Panthers’ backfield in a revenge game against his old team, the Dallas Cowboys. As for Dowdle’s role once Hubbard returns to action, head coach Dave Canales made it sound like he’d work it out when the situation arises.

Arizona Cardinals

In the first week since Trey Benson was placed on IR after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus, Michael Carter emerged as the Cardinals’ primary RB. In fairness, Carter announced it, even when head coach Jonathan Gannon wouldn’t. Based on the team’s overall Week 5 RB usage, it appears that Emari Demercado is Carter’s RB handcuff. However, it’ll be interesting to see if the Cardinals reduce his playing time after Demercado started prematurely celebrating an almost certain 71-yard TD run and dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. As an aside, Gannon was fined $100,000 for screaming at Demercado and slapping him in the chest and pads on the sidelines after the play. Should the Cardinals discipline Demercado for his blunder and reduce his playing time, Bam Knight would be the beneficiary.

 

 

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With Bucky Irving dealing with both shoulder and foot injuries, there’s a chance he’ll miss multiple games. Rachaad White was the Bucs’ primary RB in Week 5, with Sean Tucker filling the RB handcuff role. White only averaged 2.9 YPC, but he did score two TDs in Week 5 and should continue to fill the role of RB1 that he lost to Irving last season. 

Philadelphia Eagles

If you roster Saquon Barkley, it’s probably a good idea to have a backup plan. Barkley had been limited in practice due to a knee injury, and while the Eagles are downplaying its severity, he only ran the ball six times in Week 5. Was Barkley’s limited action due to the Eagles’ offensive strategy, or were his carries limited because of his injury? Barkley was removed from the Eagles’ injury report and will play in Week 6 against the New York Giants, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so beware! Will Shipley has been Barkley’s RB handcuff in the past, but he has missed time due to an oblique injury. He’s healthy now, but A.J. Dillon had been filling in as Barkley’s RB handcuff while Shipley was inactive. Unfortunately, neither Shipley nor Dillon seems to be Barkley’s clear-cut RB handcuff right now, but if I had to roster one or the other, it would be Dillon due to Shipley’s recent health issues.

New England Patriots

The Patriots’ backfield continues to be a hot mess. The Patriots’ depth chart got even more cloudy with Antonio Gibson out for the season due to a torn ACL. Rhamondre Stevenson continues to have fumbling issues, and rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson is only averaging 3.8 YPC this season. The Pats have been talking up Terrell Jennings, the second-year back currently on their practice squad, but their backfield still remains a work in progress.