Who Should I Start? Brock Purdy or J.J. McCarthy

Monday, May 19, 12:05 PM

A part of his five-year, $265 million contract extension, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy received a full no-trade clause for the duration of the deal, sources told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Purdy gets financial security and control over his future in a deal that is expected to be finalized and become official soon. It wasn't completely Purdy's fault as to why he fell from being the QB6 to QB13 in overall fantasy points in the 2024 season. San Francisco's offense was behind the eight ball from the beginning of the year when they didn't have star running back until the second half of the season, and then he suffered a new injury that caused him to be shut down. Top wideout Brandon Aiyuk also suffered a season-ending injury. The 25-year-old signal-caller could rebound to QB1 levels with better health of his offensive weapons.

Wednesday, May 7, 9:26 PM

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell didn't really acknowledge whether former first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee) will face competition for the starting job in 2025. "J.J. is going to be in a great position to assume and ascend in our organization," O'Connell said on The Rich Eisen Show. "But right now, we really don't have any feelings on competition as much as we've got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase." Sam Howell and Brett Rypien are the other options in the QB room. O'Connell did say that McCarthy is "owning it" this offseason and will get plenty of reps with the starters. The 22-year-old missed his entire rookie season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, but he's fully expected to be ready for the start of 2025. O'Connell said he's seen a difference in McCarthy's footwork, rhythm, timing and cadence from a year ago. The Vikes like him a lot, so he's expected to be the starter in Week 1, where he'll be a low-end QB2 in fantasy with upside.