Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Luis Perez

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.

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.