Who Should I Start? Marcus Mariota or Tyson Bagent

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.

Tuesday, February 17, 8:48 AM

The Arizona Cardinals are intrigued by Chicago Bears backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports. Bagent has one year left on his deal, so the Cardinals would have to trade for him. The 25-year-old former undrafted free agent beat out P.J. Walker for the backup job with the Bears and was signed to a two-year, $10 million extension in August of last year. In his three years in the NFL with Chicago, Bagent has appeared in 12 games (four starts) and has gone 99-for-149 passing for 917 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions. Arizona currently has veteran Jacoby Brissett and Kyler Murray (foot) under contract for next season, but the Cardinals are reportedly looking to trade Murray after another disappointing and injury-plagued campaign in 2025. The Cardinals will surely be looking for a signal-caller in April's draft, too, so if Bagent were to land in the desert, he'd be competing for a starting job in a best-case scenario.