There’s lineup shuffling at quarterback as Week 8 approaches, with Lamar Jackson, Michael Penix and Tyrod Taylor likely out, and Tyler Huntley, Kirk Cousins and Justin Fields expected to land in those spots.
The Ravens have downgraded Jackson from questionable to out. On Friday, they said he was a “full participant” in practice. That’s been changed to “limited participant”. A statement on the team’s website suggests the change was made after discussions with the league (the NFL probably concerned about getting sucked into the emerging gambling controversy in the NBA).
In its statement, the team said that Jackson participated fully in Friday’s practice, but with the scout team – that was the defense for submitting a listing that looks fishy.
Huntley (not Cooper Rush) will start against Chicago. He’ll be working against an injury riddled secondary, but expectations should be low. In Huntley’s 14 career starts, he’s averaged only 158 passing yards, with 8 TDs and 9 interceptions. He is a willing and able runner, at least (averaging 36 rushing yards in those games, with 4 TDs).
With Huntley at quarterback, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman become underwhelming pass-catching options. Jackson is expected to return on Thursday for a game at Miami.
The Jets, meanwhile, are going with Fields. He’ll probably also finish with bottom-5 passing numbers for the week, given his limitations and the state of the team’s receiving corps (Garrett Wilson isn’t playing). Wilson, at least, is a dynamic runner, and he’s playing against a lesser opponent.
The Falcons haven’t yet officially named Cousins their Week 8 starter, but reports suggest that’s the way it is expected to go down. Penix (with a bruised knee) is listed as questionable. That’s a move that might help rather than hurt the offense – Cousins doesn’t have as much arm strength but is more experienced.
With Cousins at quarterback, it would make me more interested (in a large league) in maybe taking a flyer on Darnell Mooney. In the first 13 weeks of last season (with Cousins at quarterback) Mooney actually had slightly more yards than Drake London. Mooney averaged 67 yards in those 13 games, with 5 TD. With six teams on byes, I could see using Mooney in a 12-team league. Admittedly, a dart throw, but with some chance of maybe a hit.
A start against Miami also gives Cousins a chance to show what he can do. Is he further along physically than last year (when he was coming off an Achilles injury)? Should the Falcons think about plugging him in later in the year, should Penix continue to struggle? And would he be a good bridge quarterback next year for a team spending a high pick on a rookie? Cousins is 37. But a couple of older quarterbacks (Flacco, Rodgers) are playing well right now.
My updated dynasty list for quarterbacks appears below. (I turn my attention to dynasty every Saturday during the regular season, rotating between the four notable positions. Thinking here is standard scoring, 12-team league, with teams holding players indefinitely – so looking not just at this year, but value in the upcoming years. Each team probably rostering about three quarterbacks.
Last week: Wide receivers
Next week: Running backs.
| DYNASTY QUARTERBACKS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
| 1. | KC | Patrick Mahomes | 30.1 |
| 2. | BAL | Lamar Jackson | 28.8 |
| 3. | BUF | Josh Allen | 29.4 |
| 4. | LAC | Justin Herbert | 27.6 |
| 5. | WAS | Jayden Daniels | 24.9 |
| 6. | NE | Drake Maye | 23.2 |
| 7. | CIN | Joe Burrow | 28.9 |
| 8. | PHI | Jalen Hurts | 27.2 |
| 9. | TB | Baker Mayfield | 30.5 |
| 10. | CHI | Caleb Williams | 23.9 |
| 11. | DET | Jared Goff | 31.0 |
| 12. | SF | Brock Purdy | 25.8 |
| 13. | DEN | Bo Nix | 25.7 |
| 14. | DAL | Dak Prescott | 32.2 |
| 15. | GB | Jordan Love | 27.0 |
| 16. | IND | Daniel Jones | 28.4 |
| 17. | ARI | Kyler Murray | 28.2 |
| 18. | SEA | Sam Darnold | 28.4 |
| 19. | NYG | • Jaxson Dart | 22.5 |
| 20. | HOU | C.J. Stroud | 24.1 |
| 21. | JAC | Trevor Lawrence | 26.1 |
| 22. | TEN | • Cam Ward | 23.4 |
| 23. | MIN | J.J. McCarthy | 22.8 |
| 24. | LAR | Matthew Stafford | 37.7 |
| 25. | CIN | Joe Flacco | 40.8 |
| 26. | CAR | Bryce Young | 24.3 |
| 27. | ATL | Michael Penix | 25.5 |
| 28. | PIT | Aaron Rodgers | 41.9 |
| 29. | NO | Spencer Rattler | 25.1 |
| 30. | SF | Mac Jones | 27.1 |
| 31. | CLE | • Dillon Gabriel | 24.8 |
| 32. | LV | Geno Smith | 35.0 |
| 33. | ATL | Kirk Cousins | 37.2 |
| 34. | NYJ | Justin Fields | 26.6 |
| 35. | MIA | Tua Tagovailoa | 27.6 |
| 36. | MIN | Carson Wentz | 32.8 |
| 37. | WAS | Marcus Mariota | 32.0 |
| 38. | CHI | Tyson Bagent | 25.4 |
| 39. | CLE | • Shedeur Sanders | 23.7 |
| 40. | MIA | Zach Wilson | 26.2 |
—Ian Allan