Who Should I Start? Tua Tagovailoa or J.J. McCarthy

Friday, July 11, 7:16 PM

While it's probably unlikely, The Athletic's Jim Ayello points out there's a chance that the 2025 season is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's last year with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins aren't in a pretty salary-cap situation moving forward, so if they have a five- or six-win season this year, it's possible that ownership decides it's time for a hard reset. It's quite possible that Miami's decision-makers going into next year think that Tua's concussion history and limitations as a pocket passer don't make him an ideal franchise signal-caller. The former first-rounder's value, both in fantasy and real life, all depend on his health and what he can produce in 2025. If the Dolphins were to cut Tagovailoa after this year, it would come with a hefty $79 million dead-cap hit. There's bounce-back potential for Tua and the Dolphins offense, but fantasy managers shouldn't be taking him as anything more than a QB2 with upside.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:07 PM

There are plenty of question marks surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick last year, after he missed his rookie season in 2024 with a torn right meniscus in his knee. However, ESPN's Kevin Seifert writes that McCarthy's arm strength has been fine after it was a topic of discussion going into the 2024 draft. "He definitely has an arm," receiver Justin Jefferson said. "That's for sure. He can definitely zip it whenever he needs to." His arm has looked especially lively on throws down the middle of the field, and McCarthy is starting to learn to vary his throws after Jefferson noted last summer that the rookie tended to throw every ball the same way -- hard and straight. With no threats to the starting job under center, the 22-year-old is Minnesota's clear starting QB going into 2025 and has some of the best weapons in the league. He's a QB2 with upside in fantasy.