Who Should I Start? Ryan Tannehill or Sam Darnold

Wednesday, January 31, 12:39 PM

ESPN's Brooke Pryor suggests that the Pittsburgh Steelers could opt to bring in Tennessee Titans impending free-agent quarterback Ryan Tannehill as a short-term fix at the position if they want to give Kenny Pickett more time to develop in 2024. It makes some sense given Tannehill's success in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's system in Tennessee -- Tannehill earned his lone Pro Bowl nod in 2019 with Smith running the offense. However, Tannehill is now 35 years old and wouldn't have the type of aerial weapons that he did when he had a career-best season in Tennessee. Pittsburgh has also expressed interest in re-signing Mason Rudolph, who was more efficient after taking over for Pickett while leading the team to a playoff berth.

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.