Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Sam Darnold

Wednesday, December 31, 3:41 PM

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said that quarterback Geno Smith (ankle) will not play on Sunday against the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs in the Week 18 regular-season finale, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. "I hate closing the door on any opportunity, but it's going to be really hard for him," Carroll said. Smith suffered a serious ankle injury in the Week 17 loss to the New York Giants and won't suit up for a meaningless contest to close out the regular season. With the 35-year-old veteran wrapping up a brutal first year in the desert, backup Kenny Pickett is expected to start this weekend. Aidan O'Connell could also end up splitting time with Pickett against KC. Smith was one of the worst starting QBs in football in 2025, completing 67.4% of his 448 pass attempts for 3,205 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a league-leading 17 interceptions in 15 starts.

Thursday, February 5, 6:33 AM

Despite being listed as limited on Wednesday's injury report, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique) doesn't seem concerned about his injury heading into Super Bowl LX on Sunday against the New England Patriots, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. "It feels really good," Darnold said. "Definitely, the time off has helped a little bit. I'm always just going to take it one step at a time, do my rehab and do everything I need to do to make sure it feels great going into practice and going into the game ... on Sunday." The 28-year-old has played both playoff games with the oblique injury and hasn't been affected, so fantasy managers in DFS contests shouldn't be too worried about it affecting him on Sunday, especially with an extra week to rest. Darnold will be going up against a Patriots defense that allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game (16.1) to the QB position during the regular season.