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Marcus Mariota Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Shark Bites are the latest fantasy football news & NFL updates. Draft Sharks has been in business since 1999. And when we started, redraft was the dominant form of fantasy football. Check out what we've learned about this most basic form of fantasy football along the way.

"All signs point" to Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (rib) starting today's game vs. the Bears, ESPN's Adam Schefter writes. "The Commanders still will need to see how Daniels is feeling Sunday in pregame warmups before making any final determination about whether he can start," Schefter adds. Daniels is officially listed as questionable after returning to a limited practice on Friday and then participating in Saturday's walkthrough. We won't get Washington's inactives until a little before 3 pm ET today, so you should have another late-game QB rostered as insurance if you're hoping to start Daniels. The rib issue obviously adds risk to his Week 8 fantasy profile, on top of the matchup against a strong Chicago pass defense. The Bears are much more susceptible on the ground, but it's possible that Daniels' rushing is scaled back today.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels will participate in Saturday's walkthrough and get additional treatment on his rib cartilage injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "They’ll see how he feels Sunday," Rapoport adds. Daniels seemingly has a legitimate chance to play against the Bears tomorrow, although we're still projecting QB Marcus Mariota to get the start. We'll keep you updated on the situation. Daniels would come with elevated risk if he does play -- but he'd be tough to leave out of fantasy lineups.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (rib) will be a game-time decision for Sunday's meeting with the Bears. He returned to a limited practice on Friday after sitting out the previous two days. “We will assess how he responds to the work that we did, over the next 48 hours," HC Dan Quinn said after Friday's practice. "But we really pushed it today. Playing quarterback, the movements, the skills, and also specific to the gameplan. Going through the whole thing. We’re really following that process and we’ll let our eyes decide how he responds over the next 48 hours, and that will guide us and we’ll make the best decision for him and the team.” We'll likely get multiple updates on Daniels between now and kickoff. Stay tuned.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (rib) will not practice on Thursday, but the team is planning to get him onto the field on Friday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. How Daniels fares in that workout figures to determine his status for this weekend's game vs. the Bears. Check back tomorrow for an update on the rookie. For now, we'd still plan on not having him for Week 8 fantasy lineups.

Commanders HC Dan Quinn on Monday called QB Jayden Daniels "week to week" with the rib injury that knocked him out of Sunday's win over the Panthers. He added that they're "hopeful" he can play in Week 8 against the Bears.

X-rays on Commanders QB Jayden Daniels' ribs showed no fractures, according to insider Jordan Schultz. Daniels is scheduled for additional testing to get a better idea of his injury. Former NFL head team Dr. David Chao suspects Daniels is dealing with a rib cartilage injury that could cost him this weekend's game vs. the Bears. We should learn more over the next 24 hours. QB Marcus Mariota played well in relief of Daniels against a bad Panthers defense, completing 18 of 23 passes for 205 yards and two TDs. He also ran 11 times for 34 yards. The task will be much tougher if Mariota starts vs. the Bears this weekend.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels suffered a rib injury in the first quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. He headed back to the locker room and is officially questionable to return. We'll update Daniels' status when we know more. He's been replaced by QB Marcus Mariota.

Update: Daniels has been ruled out. He returned to the sidelines for the second half, though. And Daniels' mom tweeted that he's "fine."

X-rays found no fracture in QB Jalen Hurts' injured right middle finger, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Hurts dislocated the finger and says he's taking it "day by day," heading into next Monday night's playoff opener. We're betting Hurts will play but will certainly watch for more on his outlook this week.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was pulled near the end of the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Giants. He injured his right finger earlier in the game, returned for a few series, and then was yanked with Philly down 24-0. We'll look for updates on that finger injury, but Hurts should be ready for next weekend's Wild Card game vs. the Buccaneers. QB Marcus Mariota will finish out this game for the Eagles.

The Eagles have added QB Jalen Hurts to the injury report as questionable for Monday night's game against the Seahawks. The change reportedly came after Hurts woke up sicker than expected Sunday morning. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Hurts is traveling separately from the team, and we'll have to see Monday whether he's able to play. If you're counting on Hurts, try to stash backup QB Marcus Mariota now. If that's not an option and you'd be left with no QB if Hurts is inactive, then you'll have to decide whether to take that risk. Players don't usually go inactive for illness, so we'd guess that Hurts will play. But it's only a guess at this point.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts headed to the locker room during the second half of Sunday's game vs. the 49ers for a concussion check. We'll update his status as soon as we know more. QB Marcus Mariota is Philly's backup.

Update: Hurts returned in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons have released QB Marcus Mariota. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the move saves the team $12 million in 2023 cap space. It's no surprise after Atlanta finished 2022 with rookie Desmond Ridder in the lineup. Will the former third-round pick open 2023 behind center? That may depend on whether the Falcons draft a QB with the eighth overall pick (or move up for someone). Mariota, meanwhile, hits the open market for the second straight offseason. He completed 61.3% of his passes at 7.4 yards per attempt across 13 starts last year. His 5.0% TD rate marked his best number since 2016, Mariota's second year in the league. We're not betting that a team will plan to start Mariota in 2023, but the 29-year-old (until Oct. 30) should land somewhere as at least insurance. That landing spot will determine whether he belongs on fantasy football rosters in any format. He should not be in your plans for current best-ball drafting.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith confirmed on Monday that rookie QB Desmond Ridder will take over as the starter going forward. He called the decision to bench QB Marcus Mariota "performance based," but added that Mariota is likely heading to IR with a knee injury. Mariota can be dropped from all redraft rosters. Ridder is unlikely to climb beyond QB2 status in Atlanta's run-heavy offense.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Falcons will start QB Desmond Ridder in Week 15, after this week's bye. The 3rd-round rookie has yet to play a snap this year, with veteran QB Marcus Mariota piloting Atlanta to its current 5-8 record. The Falcons rank a decent 15th in scoring but just 28th in total yards. It's likely a 4-game trial for Ridder to help the franchise know whether it needs to prioritize QB early in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. It's tough to bet on strong fantasy stats from Ridder in his 1st NFL action. But he was an efficient college passer (87 TDs, 28 INTs) and effective runner (2,180 yards, 28 TDs rushing career). Ridder should be claimed where available in 2-QB and superflex leagues.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears that Marcus Mariota will remain the Falcons' starting QB for the "foreseeable future." Atlanta still has a shot to make the playoffs, and it sounds like Mariota will remain under center until that's no longer the case. A source does tell Rapoport that the Falcons "love the development" they've seen from QB Desmond Ridder. There's still a good chance we see the rookie in the final game or 2 of the season.

Anyone with Falcons TE Kyle Pitts on their fantasy teams knows just how disappointing a 2nd season he's been having. QB Marcus Mariota says he carries some of the blame. "Well, first and foremost, I can do a better job of giving Kyle more opportunities with the ball," Mariota said Wednesday, according to NFL.com. "I think sometimes I've been a little too safe, a little too conservative where I'm putting the football, so giving him a chance to go get it. I think that'll help some of his target numbers." That acknowledgement could portend some extra opportunities for Pitts on Thursday night against a Panthers defense that Football Outsiders rates 28th in pass-defense DVOA. Mariota delivered 9.0 yards per pass attempt and a 71.4% completion rate in the Week 8 meeting with Carolina. See where Pitts sits in our Week 10 fantasy football rankings.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts caught 2 of 7 targets for 27 yards in Week 9. And…we’re back to reality. After a huge Week 8, Pitts posted fewer than 5 PPR points for the 5th time this season. He dropped 1 pass, but the poor output wasn’t all his fault. He shook free for what could have been a 72-yard TD, only to get overthrown by Marcus Mariota. He was slightly overthrown on an end zone target later in the game, too. He’ll look to rebound against the Panthers in Week 10. Pitts posted 80 yards and a score against Carolina in Week 8.

Falcons QB Marcus Mariota attempted 13 passes in a blowout loss at Cincinnati. It’s official — nobody is more committed to the run than HC Arthur Smith. And with only 45 total offensive plays, it’s no surprise Mariota finished with just 124 yards and 1 score. His lone score came on a 75-yard deep ball to Damiere Byrd. Mariota added 31 yards rushing but remains a superflex option only. Next up is a home matchup with Carolina.

Falcons QB Marcus Mariota went 13-of-14 passing for 129 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's win over the 49ers. He also ran for 50 yards and a TD on 6 attempts. The San Francisco matchup looked worse ahead of time than any other opponent before the Week 14 bye. So Mariota is potentially usable at any point during that stretch.

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