Who Should I Start? Deshaun Watson or Mason Rudolph

Saturday, December 6, 9:14 PM

The Cleveland Browns are planning to keep quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) on their roster next season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. While Watson is considered unlikely to play this season as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles that required multiple surgeries, the team has expressed interest in keeping him on the roster, noting that the 30-year-old's veteran presence is valuable for their pair of rookie quarterbacks in Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Another big reason Watson is expected to return is due to the fact that the Browns would have to take on a dead salary of close to $135 million if they released him before June 1 and a $53 million cap charge if he was designated as a post-June 1 cap casualty. The record for dead-cap money was set by the Denver Broncos with quarterback Russell Wilson at $85 million, which they split into two years, but releasing Watson would cost the Browns significantly more. With Watson set to return in 2026, he's expected to compete with Sanders and Gabriel for Cleveland's starting gig.

Sunday, November 23, 10:56 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph will earn the start against the Chicago Bears in Week 12 after Aaron Rodgers (wrist) was ruled out pregame, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rodgers was pushing to play, but the team decided to hold him out. This will be Rudolph's first start of the season, but he also earned significant snaps after Rodgers exited last Sunday. In that game, he completed 12 of 16 pass attempts for 127 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. This week, the veteran will face off against a Bears defense that leads the league in interceptions but has also allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2025. He's a low-end QB2 for fantasy purposes.