Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Shedeur Sanders

Saturday, January 17, 10:53 AM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique) has not thrown a football since he hurt his oblique at practice on Thursday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The Seahawks think, but don't know, that he will be fine to start Saturday night's Divisional Round contest against the San Francisco 49ers. Backup Drew Lock took the reps the last two days in practice and is ready if needed. Head coach Mike Macdonald said the team is optimistic that Darnold will be ready to go this weekend, but there's also a sliver of doubt involved here. Rookie Jalen Milroe hasn't played since Week 5, so he'd be the QB2 behind Lock if Darnold is inactive. Darnold's oblique injury makes him much more risky for fantasy football playoff lineups in the Divisional Round, especially since he's yet to throw a touchdown in two games this year against the Niners.

Monday, January 5, 1:09 PM

The Cleveland Browns liked what they saw from rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in his first year in the NFL, but they also acknowledged that he has plenty to work on going into 2026, according to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "He's still very much a work in progress, like many people," general manager Andrew Berry said. The 23-year-old fifth-rounder didn't make his NFL debut until Week 11 after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. Sanders took over as the starter, though, and started the final seven games for Cleveland. He had his ups and downs, completing 59.2% of his passes for 1,353 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions while running for 153 yards and another score. Sanders showed enough athleticism and arm strength to at least put himself in the competition for the starting gig going into next season, where he's expected to compete with Deshaun Watson (Achilles) and Gabriel.