Who Should I Start? Aaron Rodgers or Brock Purdy

Wednesday, October 22, 12:17 PM

Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers' first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers has gone so well that the team "could rethink its 2026 quarterback plans," according to ESPN's Dan Graziano. The Steelers are definitely going to scour the draft market for a QB of the future for next year and are already doing so. Still, Graziano writes that if you ask people with the Steelers whether they'd consider bringing Rodgers back in 2026, "the answer would be a resounding yes." The future Hall of Famer has "maintained his elite ability to throw the football" and is moving much better than he did in New York with the Jets last year. Rodgers is now healthy and a full two years removed from tearing his left Achilles in 2023, and it's showing. The 41-year-old hasn't been an elite QB1 for fantasy, but he's coming off a four-touchdown performance in Week 7 against the Bengals and has a 14:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio in six games as he enters a Week 8 revenge game against his former team, the Green Bay Packers.

Wednesday, October 22, 6:56 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) will be limited in practice again on Wednesday, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said that "he's steadily getting better every week," according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic. Purdy suffered a turf-toe injury in the season opener, missed two games, and then aggravated it in Week 4. He has not played since and is questionable to return in the Week 8 game on the road in Houston against the Texans this Sunday. While Purdy is making slow progress, he's going to need to upgrade to a full practice session to be cleared to return under center on Sunday. Backup Mac Jones has played a very respectable QB in Purdy's absence this year, which has afforded the Niners the luxury of slow-playing Purdy's recovery. Fantasy managers should consider Purdy to be on the wrong side of questionable this week, but Week 9 versus the New York Giants could be much more realistic if he continues to make progress.