Who Should I Start? Taylor Heinicke or Shedeur Sanders

Thursday, March 13, 9:30 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers and backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke agreed to a one-year contract extension worth up to $6.2 million on Thursday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Heinicke will return to L.A. for a second season to back up starter Justin Herbert. In his first year with the Chargers in 2024, Heinicke only saw action in four games (no starts) and went only 3-for-5 for 28 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. The 31-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion has already played for five different NFL teams in his seven years in the league. His best year came in 2021 with the Washington Commanders, when he played in 16 games (15 starts) and threw for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Heinicke has started 29 games in his seven seasons, but he's unlikely to see much work again in 2025 behind Herbert, who is one of the toughest QBs in football.

Thursday, June 12, 12:52 PM

The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that Cleveland Browns rookie fifth-round quarterback Shedeur Sanders has positioned himself to make the roster this fall and eventually make the team's decision-makers think about where he might belong on the depth chart. Sanders has been good enough in spring practices to make Browns coaches think he's worthy of more chances in training camp this summer. That doesn't mean the 23-year-old is firmly in the mix to win the starting job for the regular season -- veteran Joe Flacco is still considered the favorite -- but he's shown accuracy and decisiveness this spring. Sanders still has a lot of developing to do, but so far, he has been impressive as he looks to prove to Cleveland that he belongs in the picture long term after his well-documented draft-day slide in late April. For fantasy purposes, he's merely a dynasty/keeper stash and hold in 2025.