Who Should I Start? Jimmy Garoppolo or Brock Purdy

Friday, March 15, 5:37 PM

The Los Angeles Rams agreed to terms with free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday, according to sources. Following his disastrous year with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023, Jimmy G is now set to join the Rams for one season as Matthew Stafford's backup. Garoppolo must first serve a two-games suspension to start the year for performance-enhancing drugs, but then he will be holding a clipboard on the sidelines with the Rams. The 32-year-old signal-caller played in seven games with the Raiders last year before getting hurt and eventually benched for rookie Aidan O'Connell, going 110-for-169 for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. Pretty much all of the fantasy value that Jimmy G had going into last season is now gone.

Saturday, September 14, 12:36 AM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will try to pick up a second-straight win in a Week 2 matchup versus the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday. He'll be going up against a defense that was almost exactly league-average in 2023 for fantasy points per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks, but who held Purdy to 272 yards, two interceptions, and one touchdown last year (albeit without stud tackle Trent Williams and receiver Deebo Samuel). The Vikings made mostly minor changes to their defensive personnel in the offseason, most notably losing standout edge rusher Danielle Hunter and replacing him with first-round pick Dallas Turner. In their opener last week, the Vikings made New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones look horrible but how much credit goes to the defense versus Jones' ineptitude is debatable. Last week, Purdy was solid but rather unhelpful for fantasy managers in a home victory over the New York Jets, with 231 yards passing, 11 yards rushing, and no touchdowns or picks. At any rate, he'll have his whole complement of receivers in this one -- save for running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) -- so Purdy should be in for a decent day, especially with wideout Brandon Aiyuk getting another week of practice under his belt. Look for Purdy to find the end zone in Week 2, as he sits on the fantasy QB1/2 border.