Who Should I Start? Baker Mayfield or Brock Purdy

Friday, October 24, 4:56 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (knee, oblique) is ready to go for the Week 8 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Mayfield is a little banged up right now, but that's not going to stop him from suiting up. The 28-year-old wasn't able to offer much to fantasy managers last week. Mayfield threw for 228 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception in the loss to the Detroit Lions. As always, Mayfield will be playing shorthanded with Chris Godwin (leg), Mike Evans (collarbone), and Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) all sidelined. However, the Bucs will still have Emeka Egbuka, so Mayfield should be able to offer QB1 value against the below average Saints defense.

Friday, October 24, 5:13 PM

The San Francisco 49ers officially ruled out quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) for the Week 8 game at the Houston Texans this Sunday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Mac Jones will make yet another start. Purdy has not played since aggravating his turf-toe injury in Week 4 and has only played in two games so far in 2025. While he's been improving, Purdy has yet to upgrade to a full practice. His next chance to return will be in Week 9 on Sunday, Nov. 2, against the New York Giants. While it's been a frustrating year for anyone who drafted the 25-year-old signal-caller in fantasy, Purdy should be in play as a top-12 fantasy QB as soon as he's ready to return to the starting gig. In the meantime, Jones will make his sixth start of the year. The former first-rounder has been adequate as a fill-in for San Fran, but he's mostly been a low-end QB2 in fantasy with only six touchdown passes and four interceptions.