Who Should I Start? Lamar Jackson or Jayden Daniels

Thursday, December 18, 1:59 PM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (illness) returned to practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday's session with an illness, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN. Jackson continued an ongoing trend of missing Wednesday practices, but this time it was due to an illness and not a nagging ankle injury. He should be ready to go for Sunday Night Football against the New England Patriots, and there is hope for his fantasy managers that he can be more productive as he puts his nagging lower-body injuries in the rearview mirror. Jackson has not looked like a two-time MVP in 2025, throwing for 2,210 yards, 18 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 11 games played while adding only two rushing touchdowns. The 28-year-old has multiple touchdown passes just once in the last six games, although the good news is that the one instance came last week. Treat Jackson as a low-end QB1 in Week 16.

Monday, December 15, 3:33 PM

The Washington Commanders have decided to shut down quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow) for the final three games of the 2025 season, sources tell Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Daniels was re-evaluated on Monday and was not cleared, so the Commanders have decided to sit the second-year signal-caller for the rest of the year since they are eliminated from postseason contention. Veteran Marcus Mariota will close out the year running Washington's offense. The 24-year-old missed his seventh game of the year in Sunday's win over the New York Giants. Daniels suffered a gruesome dislocation of his left elbow in Week 9 and didn't return until Week 14, when he aggravated the injury. The former second overall pick had an amazing rookie campaign, but he'll end 2025 with only 1,262 passing yards, eight TDs, and three interceptions in seven games. Daniels could easily bounce back in 2026, but there are some serious concerns about his durability now after he missed time with elbow, hamstring, and knee injuries this year.