Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or Sam Darnold

Wednesday, March 13, 7:42 PM

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback and NFL Comeback Player of the Year winner Joe Flacco reached an agreement with the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday on a one-year deal worth up to $8.7 million, including $4.5 million guaranteed, according to sources. Flacco came off his couch to unexpectedly lead the Browns to the postseason in 2023, ultimately finishing with 1,616 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in five starts during the regular season. The 39-year-old veteran will now head to Indy to replace Gardner Minshew as the primary backup for young signal-caller Anthony Richardson, who saw his rookie season come to an end early last year due to a shoulder injury. Given Richardson's propensity to run with the ball, another injury in 2024 could force Flacco back into the spotlight.

Wednesday, May 8, 11:20 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold could be named the team's Week 1 starter over first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. As Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com writes, "It's only a matter of time before McCarthy becomes the Vikings' starting quarterback [...] but it is not likely to happen as quickly as some fans might hope, and if anything, the Vikings are poised to err on the side of methodical caution." Such a scenario could see Minnesota let Darnold, whom they signed this past offseason when Kirk Cousins left for Atlanta, start a few games before transitioning to McCarthy. Darnold has struggled to support major fantasy production from his playmakers at previous stops, including the Jets and Panthers, so fantasy managers might want to temper expectations with players like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson to start the year. Darnold himself falls to the low-end QB3 tier in fantasy football drafts.