Who Should I Start? Sean Mannion or Joe Burrow

Monday, December 18, 6:04 PM

The Seattle Seahawks elevated quarterback Sean Mannion from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Monday, a sign that starter Geno Smith (groin) will be inactive on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith was listed as questionable on the team's final Week 15 injury report with a groin injury and was considered a long shot on Monday morning to play. Mannion would give the Seahawks more QB depth behind Drew Lock, who is trending toward making his second straight start with Smith hurting. Fantasy managers that rolled the dice on Smith are probably going to have to pick up and start Lock unless they have another backup signal-caller already on their roster. Lock could actually be a decent emergency streaming option against an Eagles defense that has been generous to opposing QBs and receivers. They're also missing star cornerback Darius Slay (knee).

Thursday, October 16, 9:05 PM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (toe), who suffered a serious turf-toe injury back in Week 2, is on track to return from Injured Reserve in mid-December, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Burrow is a month into a three-month recovery after having surgery for a Grade 3 turf-toe injury. Burrow has been doing well in his rehab and has not had any setbacks, which means he's still in play to return at the tail end of the regular season if the Bengals still have something to play for. He has told people he has every intention of playing again this year, but he just needs Cincinnati to stay in the hunt in the meantime. The 28-year-old isn't guaranteed to be in play for the fantasy playoffs, so managers shouldn't feel obligated to hold onto him in redraft leagues. Jake Browning struggled with turnovers (eight picks in four games) after replacing Burrow, leading Cincy to trade for veteran Joe Flacco to try and keep the team's playoff hopes alive.