Who Should I Start? Andy Dalton or Geno Smith

Thursday, August 21, 6:05 PM

Carolina Panthers backup quarterback Andy Dalton (elbow) is being held out of the team's preseason finale on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to Panthers beat writer Darin Gantt. Starter Bryce Young will also be held out, leaving QB duties on Thursday to Jack Plummer and Bryce Perkins, who was just signed on Monday. The 37-year-old Dalton suffered a muscle strain in his right elbow in the team's second preseason tilt last Saturday against the Houston Texans. While the injury isn't considered overly serious, Dalton is strictly focused on being available for the club's Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Red Rifle is purely a backup at this point in his career. In six games (five starts) played last year in Carolina when Young was benched, he threw for 989 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

Sunday, October 12, 10:01 AM

The Las Vegas Raiders continue to stand behind Geno Smith and have not had any serious discussions about benching him, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Smith has thrown nine interceptions this season, and he has two different games with three picks. Las Vegas reportedly wants to do a better job getting its rushing game going, as the team believes this will help Smith in the passing game. Of course, if the Raiders start to run the ball effectively and still get poor results from Smith, a quarterback conversation will be necessary. Smith's backup is Kenny Pickett, whom the Raiders acquired for a fifth-round pick this past summer.