Who Should I Start? Sam Howell or Stetson Bennett

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.

Saturday, August 24, 6:31 PM

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett will serve as the backup for Week 1 and Week 2 of the regular season. This was expected to happen with Jimmy Garoppolo suspended for the first two weeks of the season. Bennett sat out of the preseason finale after starting the first two games. He threw for 437 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions during the preseason. Those aren't exactly great results, but Bennett isn't likely to see the field at all in 2024. Matthew Stafford should be full healthy and ready to go for the season opener. Garoppolo should take over as the primary backup once he's cleared to play, so Bennett is unlikely to play at all unless Stafford gets injured in the first two games.