Who Should I Start? Derek Carr or Brock Purdy

Friday, February 23, 2:00 PM

The New Orleans Saints restructured quarterback Derek Carr's contract on Friday for salary cap purposes, a move that was expected to give the team around $23 million in cap relief for the 2024 season, according to sources. Carr is due $30 million in base salary this year, so converting a portion of that into a signing bonus provides immediate savings. The 32-year-old veteran signal-caller is under contract with the Saints through 2026. In his first year in the Big Easy, he threw for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions while amazingly not missing a single game despite suffering multiple concussions, cracked ribs and a shoulder sprain. Carr is as tough as they come and can give fantasy managers low-end QB1 lines on occasion, but he's best drafted as a fantasy backup.

Monday, June 10, 8:18 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy feels better positioned for success heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Unlike last offseason, when the signal-caller was working his way back from an elbow injury, he has been training since the 49ers were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. "We got all the way to the end. We're right there and weren't able to finish it," Purdy said during an interview. "So for me, I had that taste in my mouth, and then get back into the gym, start slowly, working into it. And then here, in OTAs, getting with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and going over all the games that we played in, every play, and going over situational football and stuff, and taking that and actually going out on the field and running things and repping things, and throwing to receivers. Last year, I didn't have that, so now that I'm able to attack those things, I feel like I've gotten better." Purdy finished the regular season by throwing for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 picks while completing nearly 70% of his throws. It remains to be seen if the 24-year-old will be better than he was in 2023-24. But he's a viable fantasy quarterback in nearly all formats, even more so if Brandon Aiyuk remains with the Niners.