The Sam Darnold Decision Is Easy
Sam Darnold was signed in March to provide security in case the incoming rookie wouldn’t be ready to play in Week 1 (or the front office missed out on rookie passers in the draft). J.J. McCarthy arrived in April. The veteran was still expected to start in the season opener, but McCarthy’s knee injury ended all discussions.
The Sam Darnold Decision Is Easy
To the surprise of most, Darnold has been a capable starter for the Vikings in the 2024 season. In fact, he has been good enough to be voted to the Pro Bowl. The veteran tossed 35 passing scores and generated 4,319 yards through the air. In addition to that, he added 212 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground.
That level of play has earned him a significant contract in the upcoming free agency period. In the last few weeks, the rumblings about an extension of his employment in Minnesota have gained steam. Multiple options, including the franchise tag or a long-term extension, have been mentioned in debates about the quarterback, including a per-year salary of $40 or $50 million or more.
Sunday’s catastrophic game against the Detroit Lions has shown why the Vikings should look in a different direction. He couldn’t even complete 50% of his passes or get the ball into the endzone on numerous redzone dropbacks.
Bad games happen, but they cannot happen on the biggest stage, with the first seed in the NFC on the line. The body of work has proven that Darnold is a respectable quarterback, and 35 touchdowns don’t happen just because the surroundings are good.
After watching 17 games from the former third-overall pick, it is fair to be impressed with his playmaking ability and his arm. However, his accuracy is average rather than elite, resulting in weekly unnecessarily spectacular catches from Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and his processing speed in the pocket is a problem. He needs too long to pull the trigger, which is what separates him from the top passers in the NFL.
At the end of the day, Darnold is a solid quarterback who can play at Pro Bowl level in the right system. The problem? That is fine for $10 million. But what if he costs $40 million or more? With the rising expectations, stinkers like his performance against the Lions are suddenly inexcusable.
The Vikings just moved on from a capable quarterback who’s not quite elite, saving a ton of money, and the savings in cap space in the next few years allowed the franchise to acquire electric free agents like Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman.
The calculation is simple: How much better does the brass think Darnold can play than McCarthy, and is that difference worth $40 million per season? Those funds could be used to sign a top cornerback and a superior offensive guard while keeping pending free agent Cam Bynum on the team.
McCarthy is not guaranteed to be better than Darnold. In fact, it might be more likely that he isn’t. But he will be cheap for at least three more seasons, and Kevin O’Connell has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to developing signal-callers. Aiming to find an elite QB should be the goal.
O’Connell said in August after announcing the rookie’s season-ending surgery: “As our fans either have already come to find out or will in the future, this guy is so motivated and so dialed in,” O’Connell said. “As excited as I was to draft him, he’s confirmed everything that I hoped to see. Our fan base and everyone should be excited about the fact that we’ve got our young franchise quarterback in the building.”
It’s McCarthy’s team, and the Vikings should hand him the keys. Darnold has at least one playoff game to convince the NFL to give him a huge paycheck in March.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt