Who Should I Start? Jimmy Garoppolo or Sam Darnold

Sunday, January 5, 7:54 PM

Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo made his Rams' debut on Sunday against the Seahawks. Despite playing mostly with second-string skill players, he racked up 334 passing yards to go with two touchdowns and one interception along with five rushing yards. Without much of a ground game, Jimmy G attempted 41 passes finishing with 27 completions (65.8% completion). Next week, he's expected to return to his role as backup QB to Matthew Stafford as the Rams host a game in the Wild Card game. Whenever the Rams' season concludes, the veteran will be a free agent, but his strong showing in Week 18 should help him find work as a backup either with the Rams or another team next season.

Tuesday, January 14, 4:51 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold resurrected his career by leading the Vikings to 14 wins in 2024 while posting career-highs in passing yards (4,319) and touchdowns (35), but he came crashing down hard in losses to the Detroit Lions in Week 18 and the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round in which he had a combined 23 off-target throws and took 11 sacks. Darnold's future is now as unsettled as ever as he heads toward free agency in March, but ESPN's Jeremy Fowler writes that Darnold is still the top free-agent QB. The teams that Fowler has spoken with recently forecasted Darnold in the Geno Smith/Baker Mayfield weight class of contracts. Mayfield got a three-year, $100 million deal last offseason with Tampa, while Smith signed a three-year, $75 million deal before the 2023 season. Darnold tanked to end the year, but he did enough to find work as a starter somewhere else if Minnesota doesn't want him back.