Former Patriots and Bills RB Damien Harris announced his retirement Monday. Harris signed with Buffalo last offseason but appeared in just six games before suffering a neck injury. Although not deemed season-ending at the time, it wound up sidelining him the rest of the year. We're guessing that injury also factored into his retirement (at age 27), though that hasn't been reported as of this writing. There's no fantasy impact here unless you have Harris on your dynasty roster. (Feel free to release.) The Bills sport only James Cook and Ty Johnson at RB on their current roster (plus Darrynton Evans on a Futures contract). We'd bet on at least one upcoming RB addition -- and quite possibly more.
Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz reports that RB Leonard Fournette is planning to sign with the Bills, pending a physical. The move would add Fournette to a backfield currently led by James Cook, who ranks just 26th among RBs in PPR points per game. Adding Fournette would seem to indicate the team hopes he can at least be an upgrade over Latavius Murray and Damien Harris -- and perhaps that the Bills would like to siphon a bit more work away from Cook. The crowd will make it tough for any Buffalo RB to consistently help your fantasy lineup. We'll watch for more details on how quickly the Bills plan to bring Fournette along and how the work might be split.
Update: Fournette has passed his physical and is signing with the team's practice squad, his agents have said. Don't be surprised if the Bills elevate him as soon as this weekend.
The Bills placed RB Damien Harris (neck, concussion) on IR. He'll miss at least the next four games and can be dropped in most fantasy leagues. RB Latavius Murray should get an uptick in work with Harris sidelined. Harris' absence can't hurt RB James Cook's volume either.
Bills RB Damien Harris (neck, concussion) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. He's averaged 4.4 carries in five healthy games this season. Expect most of that work to go to RB Latavius Murray this weekend, putting him on the RB3 radar.
Bills RB Damien Harris has a neck sprain "but is otherwise good," a source tells insider Jordan Schultz. It's excellent news after Harris was taken off the field in an ambulance during Sunday night's game vs. the Giants. We'll look for further updates on when Harris might be able to get back on the field. His absence figures to boost RB Latavius Murray's workload.
Bills RB James Cook received 14 carries for 71 yards in Week 6's win vs. the Giants. Surprisingly, the second-year back didn't register a single target or catch in the contest, the first time that's happened in the 2023 season. After Damien Harris left late in the second quarter due to a frightening neck injury, RB Latavius Murray stepped up in spelling Cook and ended Sunday night with 45 rushing yards on 12 carries. It's also worth noting that Murray received 4 red zone carries to Cook's 1 against the Giants. Though the veteran didn't find the end zone, Murray brings some fantasy viability as a decent flex option with TD upside for managers with players on bye weeks. Next week, the Bills will take on the Patriots.
Bills RB Damien Harris was put on a stretcher and taken off the field in an ambulance in the second quarter of Sunday night's game vs. the Giants. He gave a thumbs up prior to loading into the ambulance. We'll update his status when we know more.
Update: Harris has a neck injury but has movement in his arms and legs, per the NBC broadcast. Harris is headed to the hospital for further testing.
Bills RB James Cook hauled 3 of 4 targets for 25 receiving yards in Week 5’s loss vs. the Jaguars. He was unfortunately not as effective as a runner, totaling -4 yards on 5 carries. His teammate Damien Harris didn't do much better, leading all Bills RBs with 13 yards on 3 carries. The Jaguars’ defense entered Week 5 as the sixth-toughest matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs in 2023 and did a tremendous job of stopping runners again this week. We expect Cook and company to have a much better time in Week 6 vs. the Giants.
Bills RB James Cook looked explosive in Sunday’s win over Las Vegas, totaling 159 yards on 21 touches. Both figures marked career highs. The second-year back also led all early-game RBs in rush yards over expectation (+44), per ESPN’s Seth Walder. He continued to lose out on red zone work to both Damien Harris and Latavius Murray. Still, his receiving work (10 targets in two games) really helps Cook’s floor. He’ll remain an RB2 moving forward.
Bills RB Damien Harris returned to practice Wednesday after missing a little more than a week with a knee issue. He still has nearly a month to get ready for the regular-season opener but will need to battle Latavius Murray for the No. 2 job behind expected starter James Cook. Harris has moved down our 2023 fantasy football rankings since the beginning of training camp.
Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic says that Bills RB James Cook has "separated himself" from Damien Harris and Latavius Murray in training camp, furthering the notion that Cook is headed for the clear lead role. Buscaglia adds that Murray is pushing Harris for the No. 2 job with a good camp, while Harris has also dealt with injury. Buscaglia also throws in that RB Nyheim Hines was a "borderline favorite" to be the Bills' No. 2 before suffering his ACL tear. That's especially interesting because Hines garnered only six total carries and nine targets across nine games with the Bills last year after arriving from the Colts via trade. The Hines bit plus the Murray praise could signal an iffy outlook for Harris, who signed for less than $2 million on a one-year deal in free agency. Harris has already moved down our RB rankings since the start of training camp.
Bills RB Damien Harris left practice Monday with knee soreness and has yet to return, according to Matt Parrino of NewYorkUpstate.com. Latavius Murray has been filling in. We'll see how long the absence lasts and whether we get an official diagnosis. This doesn't sound like a serious issue, though, and hasn't affected Harris to date in our fantasy football RB rankings.
Bills OC Ken Dorsey called RB James Cook a “three-down back” at practice on Thursday. The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia believes the Bills have “cleared the deck” for Cook to “take a major leap” in Year 2. Cook has consistently been the first RB up in team drills, ahead of Damien Harris. Don't be surprised if Cook's Underdog Fantasy ADP (RB31) rises quickly.
Bills beat reporter Sal Capaccio projects RB James Cook to roughly match Devin Singletary’s 2022 workload. The former Bill tallied 177 carries; 38 catches. “He [Cook] is not the biggest guy. He’s 190 pounds…not many running backs are that slight,” Carpaccio said on the Outside the Gridiron podcast. “He can still run between the tackles but you don’t want to do that too much to him. You don’t want him taking a pounding. That’s why the Bills signed Damien Harris.” Per Capaccio, the Bills entered the offseason determined to improve their short-yardage offense – a sentiment confirmed by the signing of Harris. His arrival – and the presence of Josh Allen – brings uncertainty to Cook’s TD outlook. Head to Cook's player page, and you'll see he's projected for only 5 total scores.
Bills RB coach Kelly Skipper gave his assessment of 2nd-year RB James Cook. “Big jump (from first to second year),” Skipper said. “I see it in the classroom. You can see he’s taking control of the playbook. If I ask a question, he’s the first one to answer, where before, he was just really learning. He got that experience, and you saw how much better he got toward the end of the year.” We’ll see how Buffalo breaks down first-team reps at training camp between Cook and Damien Harris. Overall, look for this backfield to see a small uptick in volume. Per beat writer Ryan O’Halloran, the expectation is that the Bills will reduce Josh Allen’s rushing load. (Allen handled nearly 30% of Buffalo’s carries in 2022.) Visit our fantasy football RB rankings to see backfield expectations.
Bills beat writer Matt Parrino came away impressed with RB James Cook at OTAs. “Cook looks bigger and quicker in his second OTAs after the Bills took him in the second round back in 2022,” Parrino wrote. “He’s the odds-on favorite to be the team’s starting running back and he looked the part on Tuesday." That last part is particularly interesting (and debatable). Cook brings more big-play ability than Damien Harris, who signed a low-cost one-year deal in March. But Harris projects as a bigger factor near the goal line. And we know about Josh Allen’s rushing in close. (He carried 15 times inside the 10 last year, scoring five times.) Cook’s receiving performance will be key, and there’s at least an opportunity there. New Texans RB Devin Singletary leaves behind 52 targets -- 20 more than Cook saw as a rookie.
The Bills announced Monday morning that they have signed RB Latavius Murray to a one-year deal. It's noteworthy that he comes off the market ahead of bigger-named free agents Ezekiel Elliot, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt. But that might just indicate what Buffalo is looking for vs. what those players would seek. Murray likely won't challenge the role of Damien Harris, who signed back in March. And he shouldn't challenge James Cook's role either. Murray looks like veteran depth. We'll see whether the contract terms even make him a lock for the regular-season roster. Don't bother with Murray in your best ball drafts at this point. See where the other Bills RBs sit in our 2023 fantasy football rankings.
On the same day RB Devin Singletary agreed to terms with the Texans, the Bills have reached a deal with a former rival. RB Damien Harris agreed to a one-year pact, according to multiple reports. The money has yet to be announced. It's tough to imagine the money being a lot less than the "up to $3.75 million" Singletary will get from the Texans. So Buffalo clearly believes Harris to be an upgrade. Expect him to complement James Cook, though we wouldn't rule out the Bills also making a significant backfield addition via the draft. Bijan Robinson in Round 1? Probably not. Harris -- who has averaged 4.7 yards per carry for his career and scored on a strong 4.5% of his career rushes -- lands in a good spot for TD upside. QB Josh Allen vultures some short-range rushing TDs, but Singletary still managed 12 ground scores over the past two years. Harris will be a nice value if he stays deep in RB4 range, as he currently sits in Underdog ADP. Cook should probably come down from his RB27 ADP there.
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