Who Should I Start? Sean Mannion or Sam Darnold

Monday, December 18, 6:04 PM

The Seattle Seahawks elevated quarterback Sean Mannion from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Monday, a sign that starter Geno Smith (groin) will be inactive on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith was listed as questionable on the team's final Week 15 injury report with a groin injury and was considered a long shot on Monday morning to play. Mannion would give the Seahawks more QB depth behind Drew Lock, who is trending toward making his second straight start with Smith hurting. Fantasy managers that rolled the dice on Smith are probably going to have to pick up and start Lock unless they have another backup signal-caller already on their roster. Lock could actually be a decent emergency streaming option against an Eagles defense that has been generous to opposing QBs and receivers. They're also missing star cornerback Darius Slay (knee).

Monday, March 25, 2:16 PM

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said that he's happy to have veteran quarterback Sam Darnold on the team this year. "I think his best football is ahead of him because of how he handled the last couple of years," O'Connell said. The Vikings head coach points out that he saw growth with Darnold's fundamentals as he worked as Brock Purdy's backup in San Francisco last year, and he's excited to get to work with him in Minnesota. The Vikings signed the former first-rounder to a one-year, $10 million deal this offseason, and depending on what the team does in the upcoming NFL draft, Darnold could open the year as the starter under center in Week 1. He'll have one of the best receivers in the game in Justin Jefferson to work with if he's starting, but Darnold will still be a midrange QB2, at best, in fantasy.