Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson

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.

Sunday, August 25, 10:18 PM

Denver Broncos third-string quarterback Zach Wilson got pretty much all the run in the preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals at Empower Field on Sunday with rookie first-round starter Bo Nix taking a seat. In the 38-13 beatdown of Arizona, Wilson went 16-for-25 passing for 251 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while also carrying the ball two times for 22 yards and a rushing TD. Jarrett Stidham started the game and went 2-for-4 for 28 yards on just one possession. Wilson's best play of the day was a 46-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Johnson in the fourth quarter. The 25-year-old QB also fumbled, but it was recovered by Denver. It was nice to see Wilson get some positive momentum heading into the regular season, but the former first-rounder is still expected to be Denver's QB3 behind Nix and Stidham when Week 1 arrives in two weeks.