Who Should I Start? Justin Herbert or Justin Fields

Thursday, August 21, 6:51 PM

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said that quarterback Justin Herbert and the rest of the starters will not play in the preseason finale on Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers. Backup QB Trey Lance will get the start under center and will play one to two series. Taylor Heinicke will come in after Lance, followed by DJ Uiagalelei, who will play the rest of the game. Lance and Heinicke are competing for the No. 2 job this summer, although it's unclear if Lance has the leg up based on the fact that he's making the start in the preseason finale. Neither Lance nor Heinicke figure to be on the field much behind Herbert, who has been one of the toughest QBs in the league since entering the NFL in 2020. Herbert missed four games due to injury in 2023 but has started all 79 of the games he's appeared in over the last five seasons.

Tuesday, August 19, 3:52 PM

ESPN's Rich Cimini writes that it appears that New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields will not play in the preseason finale on Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Head coach Aaron Glenn said "a good amount" of starters will not play, but didn't give specifics. Fields was active for the team's first two preseason games, but the 26-year-old only played three offensive possessions. The former first-rounder by the Chicago Bears in 2021 out of Ohio State showed improvement last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being benched in favor of Russell Wilson, and the Jets are now hoping he can take another step forward as their unquestioned starter in 2025. So far during training camp, Fields has mostly just been dumping the ball off in th short and intermediate areas, but his rushing upside is what makes him a low-end QB1 target in fantasy.