Who Should I Start? Aidan O'Connell or Sam Hartman

Sunday, January 5, 9:55 PM

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 214 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception during Sunday's Week 18 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. He also rushed four times for an additional 13 yards on the ground. O'Connell has delivered modest production over the last three weeks, tallying four passing touchdowns and one turnover during that span. He has benefitted from the breakout seasons of both Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers, but his production might not be enough to deter Vegas from selecting a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Purdue product finished this year with a 63.6 percent completion rate, eight touchdowns, and six turnovers through parts of nine games. Dynasty managers should hold O'Connell on their rosters for now, as he'll be hard to sell but is a little too valuable to drop in leagues with 14 teams or more. From a redraft perspective, he'll trend down as long as the Raiders add a notable quarterback especially if it's a rookie during the upcoming months.

Tuesday, January 28, 7:19 PM

The Washington Commanders announced on Tuesday that they signed quarterback Sam Hartman, running back Kazmeir Allen, defensive tackle Viliami Fehoko Jr., guard Julian Good-Jones, tight ends Tyree Jackson and Cole Turner, defensive end Andre Jones Jr., wide receiver Chris Moore and safety Ben Nikkel to Reserve/Futures deals. Hartman went undrafted in 2024 but eventually latched on with the Commanders for training camp. The 25-year-old signal-caller didn't make the 53-man active roster for the start of the regular season but did spend time on the active roster later in the season when backup Marcus Mariota landed on Injured Reserve. However, Hartman never saw action in a regular season game and is still looking to make his NFL debut. With Mariota set to become a free agent in March, the Commanders have opted to bring Hartman back as QB insurance this offseason.