Who Should I Start? Baker Mayfield or Justin Fields

Wednesday, November 26, 5:39 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (shoulder) was held out of the team's first practice of the week on Wednesday with a low-grade AC joint sprain in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. Mayfield was seen wearing a sling on his left arm in the second half of Sunday night's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but he has a chance to play in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday if he can get back onto the practice field later this week. In the event that the 30-year-old veteran isn't ready to play, the Buccaneers are preparing veteran backup Teddy Bridgewater to start in practice this week. Mayfield's ability to play this weekend could be tied to pain management. He's one of the toughest QBs in the league, so if it comes down to that, he'll probably be out there, but he'd be more of a high-end QB2 for fantasy football at likely less than 100%.

Friday, November 21, 10:24 AM

Heading into their Week 12 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, the New York Jets announced that veteran Tyrod Taylor will be taking over for Justin Fields as the team's starting quarterback. The demotion is the next rough patch in what's been a rocky first season in New York for Fields. Across nine games, the 26-year-old has completed 62.7% of his pass attempts for 1,259 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception. While Fields remains a threat with his legs (383 rushing yards, four touchdowns), he's averaged a career-low 6.2 yards per pass attempt while taking a sack on 11.7% of his drop-backs. Unless Taylor were to get injured, Fields is not expected to be re-inserted as the Jets' starter this season. It remains to be seen whether Fields will stay in New York for the 2026 season or if he will get another shot to be a starter elsewhere, but he's unlikely to carry fantasy value in redraft leagues for the remainder of 2025.