Who Should I Start? Drake Maye or Shedeur Sanders

Tuesday, February 10, 11:58 AM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (shoulder) acknowledged that the hit he took in the AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos was significant as it relates to his right throwing shoulder, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. Maye was managing his shoulder injury in the two weeks leading into Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks, but both Maye and the Patriots downplayed the severity. Maye admitted that his shoulder was an issue in the 29-13 loss to Seattle in the Super Bowl, in which he went 27-for-43 passing for 295 yards and two touchdowns. The second-year QB threw picks and lost a fumble as well in what was a disappointing finish to an excellent second year for the North Carolina product. Maye doesn't expect to require surgery, though, and he should be fully healthy going into the 2026 campaign. The 23-year-old led the NFL with a 72% completion percentage during the regular season and finished as a top-five fantasy QB, although New England's regular-season schedule was extremely soft.

Tuesday, February 10, 2:36 PM

The Athletic's Zac Jackson predicts that the Cleveland Browns give quarterback Shedeur Sanders the "runway to be the No. 1 QB for the summer and early fall." Sanders, who fell to the fifth round in last year's NFL draft, held the starting gig for the final seven games of the 2025 season and was predictably inconsistent, completing 56.6% of his 212 pass attempts for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 picks. He added 21 rushing attempts for 169 yards and a touchdown. Along with Sanders, Deshaun Watson (Achilles) and Dillon Gabriel are the only other QBs on the roster. As of now, Sanders is probably first in line, but it's early in the offseason, and the depth chart remains fluid. New head coach Todd Monken was non-committal on the QB situation at his first press conference. The Browns could add to the QB competition by taking a signal-caller in this year's draft, giving Sanders more competition.