Who Should I Start? Tyrod Taylor or Sam Darnold

Sunday, December 29, 8:47 PM

New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed 11 of his 14 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns while adding six rushing yards on two carries and a two-point conversion pass in a 40-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17. Taylor took over for Aaron Rodgers with the Jets down 33-0 in the fourth quarter and was able to spark the offense to two touchdowns, one apiece to Garrett Wilson and Tyler Conklin. Despite the impressive performance, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich told reporters after the game that Rodgers would remain the team's starter heading into the Week 18 season finale against the Miami Dolphins, which will push Taylor back to the QB2 role for the Jets.

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.