Byes: Indianapolis (Andrew Luck), Minnesota (Teddy Bridgewater), New England (Tom Brady), San Diego (Philip Rivers), Washington (Robert Griffin III), and Houston (Ryan Mallett)
Nick Foles‘ collarbone injury could keep him sidelined anywhere from 6-8 weeks, and he could possibly be out the rest of the season. In comes Mark Sanchez, who relieved Foles in Week 9 to the tune of 202 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Word circulated quickly around the social media world that some thought Sanchez had outplayed Foles during the preseason, questioning whether or not Sanchez should have started at quarterback rather than Foles.
Sanchez might not be the future in Philadelphia, but he has a shot at being its present, and gets to take over an offense that is in the top-six in both points and yards.
Nick Foles wasn’t drafted by the Eagles with Chip Kelly on board, which leaves Matt Barkley as the sole quarterback the current regime with Kelly as head coach has invested draft capital in.
The 2013 fourth-round pick was pressed into action three times last season. During those cameos, he completed a combined 61.22 percent of his passes for 300 passing yards and four interceptions. With a second offseason learning Kelly’s system, perhaps we might see a more improved Barkley if he has to replace Sanchez for whatever reason.
If you missed out on acquiring Sanchez, don’t forget about Barkley.
The Ryan Fitzpatrick era in Houston is over after nine games. From a fantasy perspective it was okay. He was QB18 on the year, giving us a mid-range QB2 performance. And he did have three games of 18+ fantasy points, but we know that doesn’t matter to head coaches in the NFL. Only wins do, so in comes Ryan Mallett.
The Texans traded a seventh-round draft pick for the former Patriots backup quarterback, so you had a feeling that if they got off to a slow start Mallett would be given his shot. And here it is. The nicest things I’ve read about Mallett is that he has a cannon for an arm, but struggles with short and intermediate accuracy (according to Rotoworld).
Will Mallett be a better option at quarterback than Fitzpatrick? Maybe. The bar wasn’t set too high though. But he’s a starting quarterback now, and that’s what matters the most in 2-QB leagues.
The question we have to ask ourselves is if Ryan Mallett were to falter during his stint at starting quarterback in Houston would the team hesitate to give rookie Tom Savage a shot? There’s no word on the official depth chart at the moment, so Savage might be the QB3 behind Fitzpatrick or he could have leapfrogged him to QB2.
Houston did use a fourth-round pick on Savage this year, and if Mallett turns out to be more pumpkin than Cinderella what would stop them from giving Savage a shot? Keep him on your 2-QB waiver wire speed dial for now.
At this point why not take a flier on Johnny Manziel in your 2-QB league, if he’s still available? It seems almost every other relevant backup quarterback has become a starter in the NFL, so perhaps Manziel’s time is coming?
The major obstacle in Manziel’s way is Cleveland’s record. They’re 5-3 and third in a tight AFC North division that’s led by the 5-2 Bengals. Hoyer’s feasted on the Raiders and Bucs’ defense during a two-game wining streak, completing a combined 64.86 percent of his passes for 575 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
In the three games prior to that, though, he had completed only 47.63 percent of his passes. With a shot at moving up in the division standings this week in a game against the Bengals, Hoyer might have to become more than a game manger if he wants to continue being the starter long-term in Cleveland.
*Stats used in this article from FantasyData and Pro-Football-Reference
