Who Should I Start? Tua Tagovailoa or Shedeur Sanders

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, August 5, 5:10 PM

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is expected to start the team's preseason opener this Friday on the road against the Carolina Panthers with both Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel dealing with hamstring injuries, a source told Mark Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Sanders, who fell all the way to the fifth round in April's NFL draft, hasn't gotten a lot of work with the first-team offense in training camp, but he's going to be put to the test early in the preseason. The Browns signed Tyler Huntley for more QB depth on Tuesday, so veteran Joe Flacco will sit out on Friday. It will be interesting to see how Sanders fares on Friday, but even if he plays really well, he won't really be in serious contention to win the Browns' starting QB job heading into Week 1 of the regular season in early September.