Who Should I Start? Marcus Mariota or Rome Odunze

Friday, January 2, 12:26 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (hand) has officially been ruled out for Sunday's Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. Mariota was a stretch to make it back to play in the final game of the year after injuring his hand in the Week 16 loss to the Eagles. The 32-year-old veteran was held out of the Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 and will now miss a second straight game to end the year. Journeyman QB Josh Johnson will make a second straight start for the Commanders. Mariota ended up playing in 11 games (eight starts) this year while filling in for the injured Jayden Daniels, and he held his own, throwing for 1,695 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He added 297 yards on the ground and a TD.

Wednesday, January 14, 6:54 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) remains on the team's injury report and was listed as limited for the walkthrough practice on Wednesday. Odunze missed the final five weeks of the regular season due to a stress fracture in his foot. The 23-year-old returned for the Wild-Card round of the playoffs in the win over the division-rival Green Bay Packers, though, and played 69% of the offensive snaps while securing only two catches on six targets for 44 yards. Odunze was a disappointment for any fantasy managers that rolled with him, but he could have a bigger role in his second game back this Sunday in a Divisional Round matchup against a Los Angeles Rams defense that gave up the 11th-most half-PPR points to WRs during the regular season. Still, Odunze will be a pretty shaky low-end WR option for fantasy playoff lineups since he hasn't really done much since early in the 2025 season.