Who Should I Start? Phillip Walker or Sam Darnold

Tuesday, August 27, 8:02 PM

The Seattle Seahawks waived wide receiver Dee Eskridge and released PJ Walker, linebacker Blake Lynch, cornerback Artie Burns and safety Marquise Blair on Tuesday. Injuries limited Eskridge to 24 games (zero starts) in his three seasons with Seattle after they took him in the second round (56th overall) out of Western Michigan. In those 24 games with the Seahawks, he had just 17 receptions (34 targets) for 122 yards and one touchdown. If the 27-year-old pass-catcher clears waivers, he could rejoin the team on their practice squad. Walker will hit the open market, which isn't surprising after the team added Sam Howell as the backup to starter Geno Smith this offseason. The 29-year-old appeared in six games (two starts) with the Cleveland Browns in 2023 and completed a career-low 48.6% of his passes for 674 yards, one TD and five interceptions.

Tuesday, February 18, 4:25 PM

ESPN's Kevin Seifert reports that the Minnesota Vikings are in no rush to place the franchise tag on impending free-agent quarterback Sam Darnold despite his career year in 2024. It doesn't mean they won't eventually use it on the 27-year-old signal-caller, and it doesn't rule out the team giving him a multi-year extension. Another option is that the Vikings tag Darnold and then trade him for draft-pick compensation. Keeping Darnold on the tag in 2025 would cost Minnesota around $40 million, which would be a questionable decision with former first-rounder J.J. McCarthy (knee) waiting in the wings as the franchise QB. Seifert believes the most likely scenario is that the team lets Darnold sign elsewhere while saving the tag for a player like cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., who had a career-high six interceptions in 2024. Darnold set career-highs last year across the board but also had just one TD and a 53% completion percentage in the last two games.