Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Luis Perez

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.

Saturday, August 17, 11:22 PM

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Luis Perez completed 13 of his 20 pass attempts for 78 yards, no scores, and no interceptions in the Chargers second preseason game. He took one sack and lost a fumble. Perez and Easton Stick are presumably competing for the backup quarterback job in Los Angeles, a role that could be immediately relevant since Justin Herbert is dealing with a foot injury and Week 1 quickly approaches. Perez was very much a game manager in this one, and that's more or less his upside. Even if he gets the job and plays in the regular season, he won't be much of a fantasy asset.