Who Should I Start? Derek Carr or Sam Darnold

Friday, June 6, 12:23 PM

Former New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (shoulder) made a surprising decision to hang up his cleats and retire from the NFL this offseason. "That part was tough because I didn't want to have surgery and just sit there and it sounds crazy but just take the Saints money," Carr said. He had two seasons left on the four-year, $150 million deal he signed with the Saints in 2023, although he gave up the $30 million salary he was set to earn in 2025. The four-time Pro Bowler was dealing with a right-shoulder injury that was going to require surgery and leave his availability uncertain for the start of the regular season this fall. Carr said the Saints wanted him to keep playing, but he couldn't commit to another season. With Carr now gone, the Saints will have a QB competition this summer, primarily between rookie second-rounder Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler.

Friday, December 12, 5:02 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is a potential streaming option in Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have been middle-of-the-road against opposing quarterbacks in fantasy this season. Additionally, when Darnold is firing on all cylinders, he is virtually matchup-proof. Darnold should have no issues finding his top wide receivers in this game. If he keeps the turnovers down, Darnold has a great chance to hover around 250 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Darnold had faltered over the last handful of weeks before getting back on track in the second half of Week 14 against the Falcons. Perhaps he can carry that momentum into this week. Darnold is not a must-start by any means, but if you have a tough quarterback situation, you could do a lot worse than Darnold in Week 1 of the fantasy playoffs.