The Vikings are not expected to place the franchise tag on quarterback Sam Darnold, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Darnold was one of this offseason’s strongest tag candidates after turning his career around in Minnesota last year.
On a one-year, $10MM deal, Darnold posted career-bests in several statistical categories and ranked fifth among all quarterbacks in passing yards and touchdowns. However, he ended the season on a low note, making an already-tough decision even more difficult for the Vikings. They could tag Darnold in the hopes that he can lead them deeper in the playoffs in 2025 or let him hit free agency and risk losing a bidding war.
Minnesota seems to have chosen the latter, though the team still has interest in retaining Darnold. They will have to do so without a franchise tag, thereby eliminating the possibility of a tag-and-trade.
A Darnold franchise tag has been considered unlikely for a few weeks. At $40.2MM, the quarterback franchise tag is too high of a one-year cap burden for the Vikings. Minnesota has the seventh-most cap space in the NFL, according to OverTheCap, but they have several starters hitting free agency that they will have to re-sign or replace.
Free agency makes the most sense for Darnold, too. After playing for four different teams over the last five years, he may be looking for a long-term home in the NFL. The Vikings still see 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback of the future, so any deal with Darnold would be a short-term pact. By hitting the open market, Darnold will have more flexibility to negotiate a long-term contract with the potential to incite a bidding war between QB-needy teams.
Darnold to Titans
Aaron Rodgers step on down! Complete the Brett Farve cycle. It is your destiny. Bring Davante along to pair with JJ and Addison.
Honestly, this has to happen.
Makes more sense than signing Darnold longterm or relying on JJ to start next season.
It’s beautiful.
I had assumed the tag was in play for the benefit of another 1 year look at Darnold.
Makes sense. I think people on here are too quick to dismiss Darnold after last year (not that I think he’s a star all of a sudden), but the Vikings built their last offseason around getting a rookie QB and leaving themselves enough cap space to build around him despite being short some draft picks. That doesn’t work if they pay Darnold. Spending that money in free agency means they won’t get a comp pick when Darnold signs elsewhere. McCarthy will still be the youngest quarterback in football, I think. I’m guessing they bring back Daniel Jones to go with him.
Having Jones is the real key here. No point in keeping Darnold. If McCarthy doesn’t work out, they can at least field an experienced NFL QB.
I think Daniel Jones goes to Indy. Easier route to possibly a long term deal again. Vikings have McCarthy waiting in the wings and if they’re unwilling to sign Darnold to a modest 3 year deal ala Mayfield doubt Jones gets a long term look himself even if he plays lights out like Darnold.
Equally as good a situation with Pittman Pierce Downs Taylor
Possibly could hell probably will start given how bad Anthony Richardson has been and if he plays well he could find a long term home in Indy.
Indy’s a sensible fit for Jones, too. Assuming Jones and O’Connell’s brief time together went OK, I think taking roughly the same job Darnold took last year is the most attractive option for a quarterback whose career is in the dumps.
I think their time together may have been too brief. If Darnold goes somewhere else and JJ isn’t ready I would like to see if O’Connell can get some quality play from Jones. Jones has a chance to build up his stock if he stays in MIN for one more year, then he could possibly find a lucrative deal on the open market next offseason. O’Connell should want to hold onto Jones for a year just for injury insurance alone, MIN has had a bad record of keeping QB’s healthy over the last couple seasons.
Minny is in a tough spot. They do not draft well, they don’t have a ton of picks, so they need to fill holes with free agents. Kinda of a mess.
The Vikings have a Sams Club membership card…they can swap Darnold for Bradford 🙂
If Jones has the option to stay in Minny he needs to take it, no matter what the compensation is. There’s a real chance JJ will not be ready to start and Jones sticking with KOC is the best chance he has at rehabilitating his career. That said, I have no idea what KOC thought of Jones in the time they spent together. Maybe he was horrified.