Vikings Rumors: The Award Darnold Should Win, Camryn Bynum’s Final Stretch, and QB Shuffle
Even if we’re officially in the portion of the year when Vikings rumors are quieting down, we’ll still be highlighting some of the purple rumblings.
The “Vikings Rumor Wrangle” is a series that keeps readers informed on what’s being whispered about in Vikings Land. In this iteration, we discuss Sam Darnold potentially winning the CPOY award, Camryn Bynum possibly entering his final stretch of Vikings football, and the QB shuffle that could take place in the coming weeks.
Vikings Rumors: 12.18.2024
Rumor #1 — Sam Darnold Should be the Top Candidate for Comeback Player of the Year
Apparently, Darnold shouldn’t qualify since he isn’t coming off major time missed due to being hurt. Instead, someone like Kirk Cousins — who tore his Achilles in Week 8 of the 2023 season — should be the kind of player who gets considered.
That didn’t stop Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk from arguing that maybe Darnold should be in the mix.
This year, the Associated Press has clarified the CPOY standard, ostensibly to slam the door on a player who didn’t miss time the prior year due to injury or illness. But voters won’t be prevented from voting for Darnold, if they believe he merits placement on the three-deep ballot.
‘The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season,’ the revised standard explains.
The key phrase is ‘other circumstances.’ The AP doesn’t mean it to include a player who was simply a second-stringer the prior year, or who played but didn’t play well.
Florio is right. The ambiguous “other circumstances” option leaves the door ajar for someone like Darnold: “But the clarified standard is what it is. ‘Other circumstances.’ Like being drafted by a dysfunctional organization that derailed his career, being traded to another dysfunctional organization that kept it derailed, and landing with a non-dysfunctional organization as a backup for a season before stumbling into a chance to start in Minnesota.”
Mr. Darnold is far outperforming his single-season deal that’s paying him just $10 million. One could convincingly argue that he’s been a top-ten quarterback in the 2024 season.
Add it all up and Mike Florio may think it’s good enough to merit consideration for Comeback Player of the Year. He explains: “I have one of the votes. I’ll make a decision as to the three names for the ballot after the season ends. And if I think Darnold is one of the most worthy based on 17 games, I’ll regard his ‘other circumstances’ as sufficient to put him in the mix.”
Rumor #2 — Camryn Bynum is Entering his Final Stretch as a Viking
Impossible to know with certainty. What we do know is that he’s heading toward free agency, so it’s a distinct possibility.
Last month, ESPN put together a piece detailing the league’s top free agents. Mr. Bynum found his name coming in at 16th in the list. The placement made sense, but what was surprising was the reported asking price on his next deal: $16 million per season.
There’s a very small chance Minnesota would go that high on a new deal. After all, Josh Metellus is making an average of just $4 million per season. After 2024 concludes, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seems likely to adjust that number, bumping it up by a decent bit. But therein lies the issue: how much money can get kicked over to safety?
Working against Bynum, as well, is Adofo-Mensah’s history at the position. Since becoming the Vikings’ GM, Adofo-Mensah has pursued value at safety. He has done so by signing Metellus to that team-friendly deal and by shaving money off of Harrison Smith’s contract. Seeing him drain the ATM for Bynum would thus represent a change of direction.
Plus, there’s the presence of Theo Jackson in Minnesota, someone who is well thought of and who could reasonably be ready for a larger job.
The 26-year-old Bynum stands at 6’0″ and weighs 200 pounds. Per PFF, he’s a good, not great, safety.
Rumor #3 — The Vikings May Soon Shuffle their QB Hierarchy
Very possible given that Daniel Jones has been tossed into the mix.
Current QB3 Brett Rypien, an UDFA, has played in ten games in his NFL career. His career involves completing 58.3% of his passes for 950 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Rypien’s career passer rating stands at 59.9.
Daniel Jones offers a more tantalizing statistical background. The former Giant has a career 22-44-1 record, an unimpressive total; the upside is simply that he has far more playing experience. His career involves completing 64.1% of his passes for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdowns, and 47 interceptions. Jones’ career passer rating stands at 84.3.
Jones has played 4,399 NFL snaps in his career; Rypien has played 339 NFL snaps in his career.
Plus, Jones can run. The proud owner of a 4.81 forty, Jones has put together 399 rushing attempts in his six seasons, piling up 2,179 yards on the ground alongside 15 rushing touchdowns. The average Jones carry goes for 5.5 yards.
Daniel Jones isn’t a perfect quarterback; Daniel Jones is a talented quarterback. Does it make sense to elevate him to QB3 in the coming weeks just in case something happens to the top two options in the same game?
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.