Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or Anthony Richardson Sr.

Sunday, November 23, 9:38 AM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco will get one more opportunity to start after Joe Burrow (toe) was ruled out for Sunday's Week 12 contest against the New England Patriots. While Burrow was trending in the right direction for this week, the Bengals have ultimately decided to keep him on injured reserve for at least a few more days. As a result, Flacco will remain installed as Cincinnati's starting quarterback for Week 12. He's coming off an uninspiring 199-yard clunker against the Steelers, and although he has five touchdowns over his last two games, he also has four turnovers during that span. To make matters worse, he'll be without Ja'Marr Chase (suspension), shifting Tee Higgins to the top receiver role. New England's defense has been strong this season, but it's best at stopping the run. The Patriots have allowed the ninth-most passing yards, seventh-most passing touchdowns, and 12th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2025. This matchup and situation are best defined as "good, not great." That sentiment is reflected in RotoBaller's ranking of Burrow as the overall QB17 this week.

Wednesday, December 31, 12:30 PM

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday that the team will not activate quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. (eye) from Injured Reserve for the final week of the regular season, according to Jake Arthur of Sports Illustrated. Richardson is still dealing with vision limitations and will not play in the Week 18 regular-season finale this weekend against the division-rival Houston Texans. With the Colts officially eliminated from the playoffs, they will sit veteran Philip Rivers in favor of rookie Riley Leonard to close things out with an eye toward the future. A-Rich suffered a fractured orbital bone on Oct. 12 in a freak pre-game incident. The 23-year-old former first-rounder had returned to practice in recent weeks, but he didn't make enough progress to be a realistic starting option for Indy. Richardson appeared in just two games in 2025, and his future with the Colts is very much up in the air.