Who Should I Start? Derek Carr or Saquon Barkley

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, March 11, 2:57 PM

Free-agent running back Saquon Barkley is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The deal includes $26 million in guaranteed money and has an additional $9 million available in incentives. After a 2018 rookie season that saw the former Penn State star go for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns, he has struggled to stay healthy over a chunk of the next five years of his career. He missed 21 games from 2019 to 2021. He bounced back in 2022 with 1,312 rushing yards but regressed to 962 yards in 14 games in 2023. However, the Eagles believe in him as a game-changing running back, as his average salary ($12.58 million) ranks only below Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Jonathan Taylor. Although the Eagles' offensive line could take a hit after the retirement of Jason Kelce, Barkley should be playing behind the best offensive line of his career in 2024. He will have an immediate high-end RB1 upside in fantasy football.