Who Should I Start? Philip Rivers or Baker Mayfield


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Philip Rivers News

Philip Rivers Withdraws from Bills' Head Coaching Search

Monday, January 26, 10:10 AM

Former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers has withdrawn from the Buffalo Bills' head coaching search, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Garafolo reports that NFL head coaching "might very well be in (Rivers') future, just not right now." After initially hanging up his cleats at the end of the 2020 season, Rivers came out of retirement at age 44 and finished the 2025 season as the starting quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. He has coached high school football, but has no coaching experience at the NFL level. Buffalo moved on from long-time head coach Sean McDermott after the team's recent AFC Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos. McDermott went 98-50 in the regular season across nine years as the head man in Buffalo and led the team to seven consecutive double-digit win seasons from 2019 through 2025. However, Buffalo has not yet broken through past the AFC Championship Game since the emergence of star quarterback Josh Allen. A clear favorite to replace McDermott has yet to emerge, but the Bills appear to be casting a wide net in their search.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
21.9 18.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Baker Mayfield News

Baker Mayfield Played Through MCL, PCL Injuries Last Year

Monday, July 13, 11:43 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (knee) admitted on the second season of Netflix's "Quarterback" that he sprained his MCL and PCL and suffered a bone bruise in his knee in Week 2 last year against the Houston Texans. Mayfield played with the injuries all year and then aggravated the bone bruise in Week 7 versus the Detroit Lions. This helps makes some sense of why the 31-year-old struggled so badly in the second half, ultimately finishing with 3,693 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 17 games. Mayfield was in the MVP conversation through the first portion of 2025, leading Tampa to a 6-2 record before collapsing in the second half and failing to make the postseason. The 31-year-old also suffered a tendon injury in his bicep in Week 3 and an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12. Injuries definitely appeared to hamper Mayfield last year, which could make him a bounce-back candidate in 2026 in a new offensive system under coordinator Zac Robinson. Still, fantasy managers are better off targeting the veteran signal-caller as a midrange QB2 as he heads into his ninth year in the NFL.


Philip Rivers vs. Baker Mayfield

Still trying to decide between Rivers and Mayfield? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Philip Rivers is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Baker Mayfield is projected to score 21.9 points.