Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Lamar Jackson

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.

Wednesday, January 15, 5:17 PM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (back) suffered a minor back injury in last Saturday's wild-card win over the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers but is not listed on the injury report this week as the team begins preparing for a Divisional Round showdown this Sunday against the hosting Buffalo Bills. Jackson's status for this weekend's big game was never really in question, but now it's official that the 28-year-old will be good to go. Last year's NFL MVP had only 175 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win over Pittsburgh, adding 81 rushing yards on 15 attempts, but he'll likely be needed to do more against Buffalo in what should be a high-scoring affair. The QB1 in overall fantasy points during the regular season, Jackson will be a high-priced, top-tier QB option for fantasy managers in playoff leagues against Buffalo, even if he's without top wideout Zay Flowers (knee) for a second straight game.