Who Should I Start? Aaron Rodgers or Michael Penix Jr.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
18.3 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Aaron Rodgers News

Aaron Rodgers Reiterates That 2026 is his Final Season

Tuesday, July 28, 3:19 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers affirmed on Tuesday that there's "zero debate" that 2026 will be his last season playing football, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "I thought last year might be it," Rodgers said. "And then Mike [McCarthy] got hired, and I talked to the wife, and she said, 'You can do one more year.' I said, 'Well, we'll see if it works out.' And then it kind of all came together." McCarthy coached Rodgers for 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, beginning in Rodgers' second NFL season in 2005. The 42-year-old four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer will have a new receiver in Michael Pittman Jr. to work with in 2026, but he won't have running back Kenny Gainwell, who was a key dump-off asset for Rodgers out of the backfield a year ago. Rodgers led the Steelers to the postseason last year and completed 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions to finish as the fantasy QB19. His situation with old coach McCarthy should be more helpful for fantasy purposes, but Rodgers' fantasy ceiling remains very limited because of his lack of mobility and his decline in downfield aggressiveness. Treat him as a low-end QB2 in two-QB superflex leagues.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
8.3 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Michael Penix Jr. News

Michael Penix Jr. Might Not be Close to a Return

Wednesday, July 29, 7:51 AM

Although Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) said that he's "feeling really good," he said that doctors told him a week ago that he probably had another four weeks in his rehab from a torn left ACL suffered last year, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That timetable would track to Aug. 25 being the ninth month removed from knee surgery. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday that Penix wouldn't take part in 11-on-11 drills at the start of training camp, and with Tua Tagovailoa also dealing with a tight back, the Falcons' QB battle is off to a bad start. With both QBs injured, the Falcons signed veteran Cooper Rush as insurance on Wednesday. The Falcons are optimistic that Penix will be ready in time for preseason games, but the more time he misses, the likelihood of him winning the starting job going into Week 1 diminishes. Penix's fantasy stock in both redraft and dynasty/keeper leagues continues to fall by the day, even though he technically still isn't being ruled out for the QB1 job.


Aaron Rodgers vs. Michael Penix Jr.

Still trying to decide between Rodgers and Penix Jr.? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Aaron Rodgers is projected to score 18.3 points this week while Michael Penix Jr. is projected to score 8.3 points.