Who Should I Start? Matthew Stafford or Michael Penix Jr.

Tuesday, January 27, 11:31 AM

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said after the Los Angeles Rams' loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship on Sunday that quarterback Matthew Stafford plans to return for the 2026 season. But on Monday's new episode of the Let's Go podcast, Stafford made it sound like he's still contemplating retirement. "It'll be a lot that goes into it," Stafford told Jim Gray. "It's a physical, a mental, and emotional decision, a personal and a family decision as well. So, we'll figure all that kind of stuff out with some time." The 37-year-old is the front-runner to win the 2025 NFL MVP award after leading the league in passing yards (4,707), touchdown passes (46), touchdown percentage (7.7%), and yards per game (276.9) in 17 regular-season starts. It was arguably the best year of his 17-year career, so he'll most likely run it back in 2026, when he'll be a popular QB1 target as he looks for another Lombardi Trophy.

Thursday, January 29, 2:17 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee), who had ACL reconstruction on his left knee on Nov. 25, is hoping that he'll be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season this fall, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta-Journal Consitution. "I've been doing great," Penix said. "Each and every day, just trying to get better. I feel like my confidence has been building." The 25-year-old signal-caller was given a nine- to 12-month timetable at the time of his surgery, the third ACL surgery of his career. There's optimism right now from Penix and the Falcons, but Penix's availability for the start of next season is still very much up in the air. It sounds like new head coach Kevin Stefanski is fully committed to Penix as the team's starter going forward, but his lengthy injury history -- he also suffered two season-ending shoulder injuries in college -- makes him an extremely volatile dynasty asset in fantasy football. In his 14 games (12 starts) in his first two NFL seasons, Penix has completed only 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 TDs and six interceptions.