Who Should I Start? Gardner Minshew or Jonathan Taylor

Thursday, November 28, 1:02 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders have placed quarterback Gardner Minshew II (collarbone) on injured reserve. Given that Minshew has already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season, this is merely a procedural move. He finishes his age-28 campaign having completed 203 of 306 passes for 2,013 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also took 29 sacks and lost four fumbles. It's been a sloppy year under center for the Raiders, who have given snaps to Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder. Moving forward, Vegas intends to start O'Connell, whom they activated from injured reserve on Thursday. However, he's expected to be on a short leash with Ridder waiting in the wing.

Saturday, December 21, 1:05 AM

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has 21 or more carries in four of the last five contests with virtually no competition for touches from the other running backs on the team. That is, except for Anthony Richardson who has scored four times on the ground over the last four weeks while Taylor hasn't scored via the rush since Week 8. The 25-year-old nearly had one last week but dropped the ball in celebration before crossing the goal line, resulting in a lost fumble instead. Expect the former second-round draft pick to get a healthy dose of touches again in Week 16 against Tennessee, especially given how good the Titans' pass defense has been, allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing receivers compared to a rush defense yielding the 13th-most points to opposing backs. The fifth-year pro falls to a high-end RB2 in this week's matchup, who should get plenty of work and comes with RB1 upside if he's able to find the end zone.