Cincinnati Bengals- Position
- Running Back
- Height / Weight
- 5' 11", 240 lbs
- Born
- 16/9/1995 in Pflugerville, TX
- Age
- 31
- College
- Oklahoma
- Draft
- 2017: Rd 4, Pk 114 (WSH)
- Experience
- 10th Season
- Status
- Active
Why he's performing this way
The usage, efficiency, schedule and team factors behind his recent numbers.
Samaje Perine has cooled off. He's at 2.4 fantasy pts / game (PPR) over his last game, down from 5.6.
- Recent
- 2.4
- Season
- 4.5
fantasy pts / game (PPR)
- Stable workload
His usage has held around 6.0 touches per game, so the swings come from what he does with the ball, not how often he gets it.
- Low target share
He draws 7% of CIN's targets. At this share he needs big plays or touchdowns to produce.
- Inefficient touches
3.5 yards per carry on the season (the typical RB is at 3.9), and 3.0 over his last game. Production is being propped up by volume more than explosiveness.
- Scoring without touchdowns
0% of his fantasy points come from touchdowns. His yardage is doing the work, so there is upside if the touchdowns start coming.
- Tough recent schedule
Opponents in his last game (PIT) give up less EPA per play than the league average. He has been producing against strong opponents, so the numbers are probably underselling him.
- Strong supporting cast
CIN are averaging +0.26 EPA per play on offense. An efficient offense sustains drives and creates more scoring chances.
Play style & archetype
Compares 2026 play-by-play and box score data against 50 qualified RBs across 3 games.
Archetype
Change-of-pace back
Works in a committee, spelling the lead back with a different style.
He does a lot of his damage as a receiver (receiving share of yards 59.3%, top 1% of RBs).
He splits the backfield workload (team carry share 14.5%, bottom 1% of RBs).
Yards / target of 7.3 ranks in the top 20% of qualified RBs.
Rush TD rate of 0.0% ranks in the bottom 21% of qualified RBs.
10 NFL seasons and 2,339 career rushing yards. Best year: 603 in 2017.
Strengths
- Yards / target (7.3)
Areas to watch
- Rush TD rate (0.0%)
Percentile vs. RBs
- Carries / gamestyle3.3 · 0
- Team carry sharestyle14.5% · 0
- Yards / carry3.5 · 33
- Rush TD rate0.0% · 21
- Targets / gamestyle2.3 · 41
- Receiving share of yardsstyle59.3% · 102
- Yards / target7.3 · 80
- Fumbles lost / touch0.00% · 61
Colored bars are quality measures. Gray "style" bars show how often he does something, not whether it's good.
Career statistics
Regular season, by year and team. Career bests are highlighted.
Rushing
| Season | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG | FD | FUM | LST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | WSH | 16 | 175 | 603 | 3.4 | 1 | 30 | 22 | 2 | 2 |
| 2018 | WSH | 5 | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | CIN | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2019 | MIA | 1 | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | CIN | 16 | 63 | 301 | 4.8 | 3 | 46 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | CIN | 16 | 55 | 246 | 4.5 | 1 | 46 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CIN | 16 | 95 | 394 | 4.1 | 2 | 29 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | DEN | 17 | 53 | 238 | 4.5 | 1 | 24 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | KC | 17 | 20 | 92 | 4.6 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | CIN | 15 | 84 | 382 | 4.5 | 3 | 32 | 32 | 3 | 2 |
| 2026 | CIN | 3 | 10 | 35 | 3.5 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 122 | 568 | 2,339 | 4.1 | 12 | 46 | 126 | 6 | 5 | |
Receiving
Defense
| Season | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS | INT | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG | PD | STF | STFYDS | KB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | CIN | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | CIN | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | CIN | 16 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CIN | 16 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | DEN | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | KC | 17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | CIN | 15 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | CIN | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 122 | 34 | 19 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
Returning
Scoring
2026 game log
Box score lines from completed games this season.