Who Should I Start? Baker Mayfield or Shedeur Sanders

Thursday, January 1, 2:43 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (knee, shoulder) practiced in full for the second straight day on Thursday and has been cleared to play in Saturday's Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Carolina Panthers. Mayfield is nursing knee and shoulder injuries, but he will be active as the Bucs look to win the NFC South this weekend with a win over Carolina and a loss by the Falcons to the Saints. The 30-year-old won't be a very inspiring QB1 option for fantasy managers still playing for something in Week 18, although he is coming off a 346-yard passing effort with two touchdowns in last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins. In the first meeting against the Panthers two weeks ago, Mayfield threw for only 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception. After four straight games without multiple passing TDs, Mayfield has two TD passes in two of his last three games.

Monday, January 5, 1:09 PM

The Cleveland Browns liked what they saw from rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in his first year in the NFL, but they also acknowledged that he has plenty to work on going into 2026, according to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "He's still very much a work in progress, like many people," general manager Andrew Berry said. The 23-year-old fifth-rounder didn't make his NFL debut until Week 11 after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. Sanders took over as the starter, though, and started the final seven games for Cleveland. He had his ups and downs, completing 59.2% of his passes for 1,353 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions while running for 153 yards and another score. Sanders showed enough athleticism and arm strength to at least put himself in the competition for the starting gig going into next season, where he's expected to compete with Deshaun Watson (Achilles) and Gabriel.