Who Should I Start? Sam Howell or Brock Purdy

Wednesday, January 1, 5:04 PM

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the team doesn't plan on playing backup quarterback Sam Howell in their Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks were eliminated from postseason contention in Week 17, but it sounds as though they plan to play all of their starters this weekend to close out the season. Howell has played only 25 offensive snaps in his first year in Seattle and didn't look particularly confident in the rare instances he got into a game this year. Despite dealing with a nagging knee injury of late, the 34-year-old Geno Smith should start and play all of the Week 18 game, lining him up as a QB1 option this week with so many starters across the league being rested in the season finale. Smith enters Week 18 as the QB13 in overall fantasy points with 4,097 passing yards, 17 TDs and 15 interceptions in 16 games.

Tuesday, April 1, 1:04 PM

Although the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy still have yet to finalize a long-term contract extension this offseason, owner Jed York expressed optimism on Tuesday that the two sides are close to getting something done. "I think (contract talks have) been good," York said. "It's not conversations that I'm having. He's got to make a decision with what he wants to do. I don't think we're that far apart. I think we can sit down and get something done. Whenever he's ready, we're ready." Purdy still has one year left on his extremely affordable rookie contract, so technically the Niners don't need to be in a rush to extend him. However, the 49ers want to reward the 25-year-old after he made just $985,000 in 2024. Even though the Niners and Purdy had a down year last season and missed the playoffs, his new extension is expected pay him north of $50 million per year.