Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or C.J. Stroud

Thursday, February 19, 2:02 PM

After starting games for both the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals in 2025, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco enters 2026 as an unrestricted free agent. The 2008 first-round draft pick, who has now started for six different teams, recently turned 41, but he has no plans to retire anytime soon. While a handful of teams could be in the market for a bridge quarterback when free agency opens in March, Flacco will likely find more suitors as one of the most reliable backups in the league. He has expressed a willingness to resign with Cincinnati to play behind Joe Burrow, which, outside of a starting role, might be his most valuable landing spot from a fantasy perspective. Flacco finished as a QB1 in four of his six starts with the Bengals, including a stretch of three straight weeks inside the top five, while Burrow has missed meaningful time in three of his first six seasons. As such, Flacco is worth holding through the offseason in superflex dynasty leagues.

Friday, February 13, 8:42 AM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud took another step backward in 2025, completing 64.5% of his passes for 3,014 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions across 14 regular-season games. He was also tripped up in the playoffs. Houston took down Pittsburgh in the Wild Card round, but then, Stroud threw four interceptions on a 42.6% completion rate in the Texans' elimination against the Patriots. Stroud was the overall QB11 despite missing two games as a rookie in 2023, but he fell to QB18 in 2024 and QB21 in 2025. The former No. 2 pick is still expected to have his fifth-year option picked up, but he needs to re-find his rookie form and prove that he's worthy of being the Texans' franchise quarterback long-term. He certainly has the weapons needed to produce; Nico Collins is a budding superstar, Dalton Schultz took major strides last season, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins had big rookie seasons, and Tank Dell (knee) is presumably nearing a return. Stroud is worth holding in dynasty leagues right now, but he's a bit too risky to "buy low."