JANUARY 16: O’Connell confirmed he engaged in discussions with Vikings ownership this week, via The Athletic’s Alec Lewis. Exiting his third season at the helm, the Minnesota HC confirmed he is seeking a second contract. A leaguewide expectation points to an O’Connell extension coming this offseason, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones adds. Adofo-Mensah confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert) he also has met with ownership.
JANUARY 15: The Vikings’ season ended on a sour note regarding the final week of the regular season as well as the wild-card round. Losses in both of those contests have left the 14-win team out of Super Bowl contention, but expectations will likely be raised next season. 
The defining storyline of Minnesota’s offseason will of course be the status of quarterback Sam Darnold. He far exceeded the value of his one-year, $10MM pact in 2024 but poor outings to close out the campaign could hinder his earning power. Regardless of whether the franchise tag is used, a multi-year contract is worked out or if the Vikings move on to J.J. McCarthy under center, continuity should be expected on the sidelines and in the front office.
Owner and president Mark Wilf plans to discuss contract extensions with head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes. Talks could begin as early as this week as the team prepares for a number of looming offseason decisions. O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah are both in their first stints in their current positions, and their success has been notable.
The Vikings went 13-4 in 2022, the first season both were in place for Minnesota. That was followed last year by a 7-10 campaign punctuated by quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ Achilles tear. Minnesota ultimately decided not to match the Falcons’ commitment to Cousins in free agency, electing to invest in McCarthy in the first round of the draft in addition to the Darnold signing. The latter’s career year has helped his market value considerably, and it has enhanced O’Connell’s reputation around the league as one of the NFL’s top offensive minds.
It was reported in December an extension for O’Connell was expected, although at that point no discussions had taken place. He and Adofo-Mensah are under contract through 2025, but their respective performances to date have certainly helped their leverage in securing a new commitment from ownership. A trade for O’Connell was raised as a possibility being entertained by other teams earlier this month; to no surprise, that has since been emphatically shut down.
The Vikings will be hard-pressed to duplicate this season’s success given the strength of the NFC North, but the team could be well positioned to contend moving forward by ensuring the current HC/GM combination remains intact beyond next year. It will be interesting to see how extension talks progress once they get underway.
Kirk Cousins would not have taken the Vikings as far as Darnold did, and would have cost $25 million more. Wherever Darnold goes after this year, he’s likely to fail, unless it were San Francisco. Vikings (O’Connell) and 49ers (Shanahan) are by far the most QB friendly teams, i.e. can take guys with modest talent and make top ten QB’s out of them.
Run back Darnold on another one year contract, this time for $15 million contract with $5 million bonus for winning the NFC championship. That kind of money is not far from what Darnold could get on the open market after the two eggs he laid at the end of the season. Another season of success in Minnesota will offer him real opportunities. A failed season at $22 million somewhere else will end his starting career.
$15 million is a small enough sum that the Vikings can start McCarthy is Darnold is shaky in year two.
Everyone wins.
Some team will pay Sam 3yrs $80M. For that I hope they play Jones & JJ. And fill needs at CB & OL
Alec… I think you’re way undervaluing what he’d get on the open market. QB needy teams like the Titans, Giants and Raiders will drive up the price.
Kwesi is headed for a tough decision, He could run with McCarthy and D. Jones and spend the money/picks to upgrade elsewhere or Pony up for a Geno Smith type contract and run it back with a handful of new guys. After all, The Vikings only lost to 2 teams all season long. The Lions and Rams.
Kevin needs to discuss with the GM and Ownership What the hell happened the last 2 games when the offensive wheels fell off.
BEFORE ANY NEW CONTRACT !!
I can answer that one. The O line fell apart. Any cohesiveness they built up throughout the earlier portions of the season were being torn apart once teams saw the weakness. And a glaring weakness it was. It’s a learning experience for KO, as he has to learn to adjust to having shorter patterns.so whoever the QB is can get rid of the ball quickly. And a hard pass on re-signing Darnold. He still is going to get minimum of $25mil/season. I would rather see the Vikings use ALL the cap space they have next year on lineman (both O & D), defensive backfield and a good RB…not Najee Harris.
What will it cost to keep Jones around???
I’d pass on Darnold back. New OG New Center , RB , and 2 Cbs in draft.
FA Cb and OG and probably do all that for under 50 million.
More importantly, does KO think he can “fix” Jones?
AND
What does KO REALLY think about JJ’s capabilities under the system?
For that Matter:
What does KO think about Mullens (Check Career TD/INT) & Rypien (Check Career TD/INT & FUMBLES) as backups and potential starters (either due to injury or as “Season Openers” for JJ.
AND
For those two, what are their career aspirations and what do they (and their agents) think they can get elsewhere in terms of opportunity and money?
THEN
Who else may be available and does KO have his eye on anybody?
Jaren Hall? Kellen Mond? Josh Dobbs?