Fantasy Football Week 15 Running Back Handcuff Report: Jerome Ford, More
Welcome to the Week 15 Running Back Handcuff Report! If your season-long league fantasy football team is still alive, you deserve major kudos!
The good news is that the bye weeks are behind us! The bad news is that there are a few NFL backfields that remain in flux due to potential injuries to some fantasy relevant running backs.
Fantasy Football NFL Week 15 Running Back Handcuff Report
There’s a chance that the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks will all have to start an RB handcuff in Week 15. The San Francisco 49ers are unbelievably also dealing with yet another injury to one of their starting RBs and may end up starting an RB handcuff who was inactive between Weeks 11 and 13.
We’ve got a lot to cover in this edition of the Week 15 RB Handcuff Report.
How To Find The Best RB Handcuffs
Isaac Guerendo, the San Francisco 49ers RB who catapulted to the top of their RB depth chart was the team’s lead back in Week 14, filling in for Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason, who both landed on the IR. Guerendo scored two TDs and ran for 78 yards on 15 carries (5.20 YPC) but he was removed from the game in the fourth quarter due to a foot injury.
As this article is being written Guerendo’s status for Week 15 (a Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Rams) is still up in the air. If he’s inactive, Patrick Taylor would likely be the next man up in the 49ers backfield. Since this is the 49ers we’re talking about, familiarize yourself with Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Israel Abanikanda. Based on the 49ers depth chart Vaughn would be Taylor Jr.’s RB handcuff.
Breece Hall, the Jets’ lead back when he’s healthy, has been dealing with a knee injury which caused him to be inactive in Week 14. Prior to Week 14 it appeared that Braelon Allen was Hall’s RB handcuff, but Allen and Isaiah Davis split carries and targets with Hall sidelined.
If Hall is inactive in Week 15 it’s tough to trust either Allen or Davis against the Miami Dolphins. Some are even speculating that Hall may have played his last snap for the Jets this season.
Rachaad White opened the season as the Buccaneers’ lead back. However, rookie RB Bucky Irving eventually emerged as the teams’ lead back and White took a back seat as Irving’s RB handcuff. Unfortunately, Irving was forced from his Week 14 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a back injury.
White filled in nicely, rushing for 90 yards on 17 carries (5.29 YPC) and he also scored a rushing and receiving TD. Irving has missed practice time this week and if he’s inactive, White would once again be the Bucs’ lead back with Sean Tucker backing him up as White’s RB handcuff.
Kenneth Walker’s RB handcuff, Zach Charbonnet, could probably be a starting RB on a good number of NFL Teams. With Walker III inactive in Week 14 he rushed for 134 yards (6.09 YPC) and scored two TDs against the Arizona Cardinals. Walker III has also missed practice time this week due to a calf injury and his Week 15 status is in question.
Should Walker III be inactive this week Charbonnet will fill in for him and deserves to be in fantasy football lineups. Kenny McIntosh would be Charbonnet’s RB handcuff should Walker III be forced to miss a second straight week.
Many fantasy football managers were hoping that Carolina Panthers rookie RB Jonathon Brooks, Chuba Hubbard’s handcuff, would eventually emerge as a top tier fantasy RB but unfortunately, that will not be the case. Brooks tore the ACL in his right knee for a second straight season.
That leaves Raheem Blackshear as Hubbard’s RB handcuff but since he missed time this week due to a chest injury, keep an eye on Mike Boone. If Blackshear is inactive in Week 15 Boone would be Hubbard’s RB handcuff.
One other RB handcuff who has a chance to make an impact in Week 15 is Tyjae Spears. Tennessee Titans lead back Tony Pollard has missed practice time this week due to an ankle injury.
It may be a bit premature to speculate, but if Pollard is inactive in Week 15, Spears would be the next man up with Julius Chestnut as his RB handcuff.
Need some good news about fantasy football RBs? Look no further than to Las Vegas Raiders RB Sincere McCormick who has earned a starting role as the team’s lead back.
Zamir White has been placed on the IR and Alexander Mattison might be available in Week 15 but even if he is active, he’d likely cut into passing down back Ameer Abdullah’s reps.
Top RB Handcuffs Ahead Of NFL Week 15 & For Rest Of Season
Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
Vidal’s role is increasing. He played 53% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps compared to 43% for Gus Edwards in Week 14. Vidal only had two fewer carries (8) than Edwards and he is the Chargers’ passing down back.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
Miller has moved ahead of Jamaal Williams on the Saints’ RB depth chart and is now Alvin Kamara’s RB handcuff.
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb’s progress has been slower than expected. Ford had just one less carry (10) than Chubb in Week 14.
Player News
Ryan Ramczyk retired after eight seasons in the NFL.
Ramczyk served as a stalwart member of the Saints’ offensive line from 2017-2023, battling through deteriorating cartilage in his knee. He was sidelined by the issue for the full 2024 season. Ramczyk’s NFL accolades include a spot on the 2017 PFWA All-Rookie Team, two second-team All-Pro nods (2018 and 2020) and one first-team All-Pro (2019) spot.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Minnesota OT Aireontae Ersery is a player that “teams like a lot more than the media knows.”
Rapoport suggests that Ersery could make his way into the late first round, connecting him with the tackle-needy Chiefs. Ersery performed more consistently as a run-blocker than as a blindside pass protector over the last two seasons, but notably allowed just a 3.0 percent quarterback pressure rate last year, the 10th-lowest among Power Five left tackles with at least 400 pass-protection snaps.
Beat reporter Scott Bair reports that Bears DC Dennis Allen asked slot CB Kyler Gordon to learn a second position, either on the perimeter or at safety.
The Bears’ previous coaching staff spent two seasons trying this experiment before allowing Gordon to blossom in a full-time slot- and box-coverage role last season. Perhaps, Allen can succeed where others have failed. His intent is to “find some more playing time” for Gordon, which is understandable given Gordon’s significant on-field impact last year.
Bills signed CB Tre’Davious White, formerly of the Ravens, to a one-year, $6.8 million contract.
White, now 30 years old, returns to the team that drafted him in the 2017 NFL Draft’s first round. White was a force to be reckoned with early in his career, but a 2021 ACL tear and a 2023 Achilles tendon rupture have reduced his play quality. White will now compete for the Bills’ No. 2 perimeter role.
Bills waived TE Armani Rogers.
This is unfortunate. Rogers recently ruptured his Achilles tendon for the second time in three years. He showed promise as a 2022 rookie, earning a 65.3 PFF receiving grade and a 68.0 PFF run-blocking grade, but the injuries are taking their toll. The Bills also released DT Branson Deen.
Titans waived OT Nicholas Petit-Frere.
The team signed C Sam Mustipher and OT Oli Udoh in corresponding moves. Petit-Frere failed to meet expectations after the Titans spent a third-round pick on him in 2022, allowing 35-plus quarterback pressures in 2-of-3 NFL seasons.