Recent reporting on Sam Darnold’s future with the Vikings suggested that the team has resigned itself to the fact that Darnold’s play in 2024 has priced him out of Minnesota, and that the club has not engaged in extension talks with the resurgent quarterback. However, the Vikes may not be willing to give up on a Darnold return just yet.
Per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Minnesota indeed hopes that it will be able to retain Darnold, who has piloted the Vikings to a 12-2 record and a shot at the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Jones’ sources confirm prior reports that the 27-year-old passer has set himself up for a contract that would pay him at least $25MM per season, which is of course a considerable raise on the one-year, $10MM deal he signed with the Vikings this year.
That said, Minnesota is projected to have upwards of $70MM in cap space in 2025, so a “middle-class” QB deal would be feasible. It may even be a bargain if Darnold, under the tutelage of head coach Kevin O’Connell, has truly blossomed into the player the Jets believed he would be when they made him the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft.
Darnold’s 104.9 QB rating is the fourth-highest mark in the league, he has led four game-winning drives, and the Vikings are eighth in the league in scoring as of the time of this writing. That performance, combined with Minnesota’s win-loss record, make it no surprise that the team wants him back.
Of course, the Vikes signed Darnold this offseason with the intention of making him a bridge passer, not a long-term fixture under center. As such, the team selected J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick of this year’s draft, and McCarthy was the player deemed to be the quarterback of the future.
According to Jones, that has not changed. The Vikings’ level of faith in McCarthy is as high as it was when he was drafted, and the season-ending knee injury he suffered in August has not altered the club’s view of his career trajectory. However, Darnold’s efforts this season cannot be ignored, and one AFC executive told Jones that McCarthy could become Minnesota’s version of Green Bay’s Jordan Love (a first-round pick who sat behind Aaron Rodgers for several seasons before finally getting a chance to run the show).
Since Darnold’s combination of youth and ability could make him the most desirable QB in this year’s free agent class, it is still possible that his asking price goes beyond the Vikings’ comfort level. But his 2024 showing has afforded him the ability to be selective about his future home, and Jones says the USC product will naturally exercise caution to avoid undesirable situations, like those he found himself in as a member of the Jets and Panthers. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says the Browns would have interest if Darnold hits the open market, though it is unclear whether Cleveland — despite the presumptive presence of a well-respected offensive mind in HC Kevin Stefanski — would qualify as a desirable situation.
Obviously, Minnesota has proven to be a perfect fit, and if the Vikings are willing to spend, it appears that the door to a multiyear pact between Darnold and the club remains open.
Tag him. Simple enough. Have a legit QB competition this summer. If JJ win’s then trade Sam; if Sam wins, then they have their QB for 2025 season.
Franchise Tag is projected to be $40 million fully guaranteed. Darnold is not worth that. No team will take on that large odds a call hit for him
$40m is cheaper than the $55-60m deals handed out last offseason. I get where you’re coming from, but that’s the cost of locking up a QB1 today.
Darnold won’t get that type of deal. $20-$30 M maybe.
Cousins got paid $45M per on average and will get cut, so yeah, I’d say Darnold found lightning in a bottle and will get paid $30M+ with incentives easily. And it will most likely be with the Vikings. Don’t see him leaving a good situation.
Cousins had a MUCH longer track record of success lol. Darnold won’t fetch more than 30. Teams will be skeptical as they should be
Cousins was also going to be 36, coming off major surgery and had 0 career playoff success. At least at darnolds age you can see more upside. He seems much closer to a geno smith comparison. Who I believe is on A 3 yr 105 mil deal. So yeah 1/40 is totally fine.
Salary cap machinations are that a contract is easier to smooth out with cap hits versus a tag. I don’t think they would want to use more than half of their cap space on one position when they supposedly have their future QB.
Probably at a crossroads this off season … go all in with Darnold or trade JJ for draft capital.
They could give Darnold something like the Mayfield deal (probably a lesser version) with no problem. Something they can get out of easily after two years. They have a huge amount of cap space next season, even with the needs they’ll need to plug in free agency with depleted draft capital. McCarthy has cap hits of under 5 million, under 6 million, and under 7 million the next three years, so it’s not like it’s a huge deal if they’re sitting and grooming him for a couple of years.
The difference between this situation and the Green Bay one was that Rodgers was in his mid-30s when they drafted Love. Darnold is still pretty young and in his prime years. I don’t think he’d look to re-sign in Minny if he has to look over his shoulders, especially if he’s a too QB in this FA class. He is in a good situation though, as he has some weapons in his arsenal in JJettas and Hock and Addison, which is the best he’s ever had.
Agree, there will be several openings this season with few quality QB prospects in the draft. Take the bigger payday with at least two years of guarantees.
I’d take less from the Vikings because that supporting cast is going to make him look good. If he can get 3 years at 30 million from the Vikings with 2the first 2 years guaranteed I’d jump at it even if somebody else offers more. In 3 years he’s only 30 and he will probably have 3 more good years under his belt so then he can go free agent and sign a huge deal
That sounds fine in theory, but he’s likely to receive offers in the $30 million per year range, with at least two years guaranteed. No one’s going to leave that much money on the table.
Former first rounder who obviously has the talent gets selected by the jets who completely derailed his career. Now he’s with a team and a coach who believes in him. Sign him long term
Does that mean we’ll get to see a Zach Wilson redemption tour soon? lol
Zach has everything needed to be a UFL MVP 🙂
Sign Darnold and trade McCarthy for a haul to add to an already strong roster.
Take the bird in the hand and sell the bird in the bush for a fortune while said bird is still on a rookie deal in a QB starved league.
This is a good strategy, imo. It’s obviously hard to develop QBs, and Darnold has looked really good in this O. I think McCarthy will def have some value come this offseason, and lots of teams need QBs.
More like the other way around. Sign Darnold and let McCarthy sit a year under him and then trade Darnold.
And if McCarthy blows, then what?
The Vikings have a good hand if they play it well. Depending on the market, they can trade away McCarthy for more than what they paid for him (still on long term rookie contract), or they could trade away Darnold. And only Vikings coaches will really know what is going on with McCarthy.
After the Vikings let one of the two leave for first round picks, there’s an endless lineup of adequate backup QB’s in the $5 to $8 million/year category.
It helps that the 2025 is an extremely weak quarterback class. McCarthy should be be tradable for a high first + something else. Darnold has been impressive this year, the Vikings would be mad to let him walk away.
I get the dilemma, but it seems insane to me to let a now proven qb walk in favor of a guy who has never taken a snap in the league just because the kid was a mid first round pick. Trade McCarthy, make Darnold the franchise qb and be glad you’ve now got a guy.
lol, Cleveland. Arnold just revived his career and QB’s die in Cleveland, he will not go there. I have heard Cousins rumors too, imagine cous in’s in Cleveland..
It’s a little early to predict an outcome imo.
If the Vikings win the Super Bowl, there’s no way the Vikings can let Darnold leave town. Even getting to the Super Bowl or NFC championship game will make it hard to move on.
But a quick first round exit where Darnold doesn’t play well? There might be more fan push to move on to McCarthy.
Cleveland “desirable situation” yeah im gonna say the team that traded the world for a qb in a lot of trouble and a team that had no leverage in those trade talks and now stuck in this mess and too dumb to move on would not be desirable
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikes sign Darnold and move McCarthy on a draft day deal to sure things up on the cheap. After the year they’re having with Darnold at the helm, and he’s only 27, I can see the Vikes putting ‘it’s now’ in full throttle.
Hahahagaha the browns. I don’t think anyone wants to play for the browns. Absolute last team on earth. It’s either retire or play for Cleveland
Exactly that team has absolutely ruined the good thing they had going. Again…
If JJ McCarthy was in the 2025 NFL Draft he’d probably be the first QB chosen.
I think the Vikings will tag Darnold. $40 million is not too much to pay for a QB who has proven he can excel in the Vikings system. They’ll keep McCarthy too and decide on a long term plan next season.
Why would they give him $40MM when no other team in the league would offer him that kind of salary? If the Vikings can rework some contracts and have him accept a nice raise to $25MM then they will do that but he isn’t going to be the long term answer for anybody. Let’s not forget he couldn’t even secure the starting job with the Panthers.
They will tag him because it’s the only way they keep him for just one year. In a world where Daniel Jones gets 40 million per year, you can bet Darnold is getting 40.
Let’s not forget Minnesota once had Case Keenum lead them to the playoffs, and then they let him leave for Denver in free agency. I think they want a bridge quarterback like Keenum, and Sam Darnold has far outplayed that level. They could actually re-sign Keenum for that role after this year.
Sign Darnold to a 3 year deal, McCarthy can sit and learn.
The Lions drafted something (or someone) named Herndon Hooker to replace Jared Goff as their QB of the future.
Sometimes, you let facts change your plans.
You only have 38 under contract and you have Barr and Aaron Jones as your big free agents also
Darnold has so much leverage I’m happy for him. Yes he could come back to the Vikings with a Top 3 WR and Top 5 O-line and QB friendly coach or…OR he could set his price higher and stamp his claim as a elite nfl QB and signal caller. I can only imagine how his phone will be buzzing this offseason. Talk about an epic comeback!
A nice problem for the Vikings to have, while they are competing for a championship. They currently have the NFL’s longest winning streak at eight games with the Eagles losing yesterday.
He will be given the franchise tag, if nothing else and why not? This team hasnt done this well since Brett Favre and unless he stumbles in his next three games, including the first playoff game, he should command a huge payday. The Packers game is another stepping stone.
The risk you run in tagging Darnold is that he holds out during the off season and other players will notice and see how the FO navigates this situation.
He’s def getting paid next season regardless, but his agent will also want him to secure a larger “gross” number while Darnold will want something beyond the $40M 1-year in case of injury.
Darnokd probably wants to stay in Minnesota too. Where’s he going to go, Cleveland where they cycle tough QBs. Giants, Texans, where else is more appealing than the place he is that’s loaded and has a system that he literally dominated in.