Vikings Rumors: Darnold Back in ’25, Rookie to See More Snaps, and The CB’s Major Payday
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 getting re-signed to be Minnesota’s QB1 in 2025, a rookie defender needing to soak up more snaps, and a Vikings corner who is moving toward a major raise once the offseason arrives.
Vikings Rumors: 01.01.2025
Rumor #1 — Sam Darnold is Coming Back in 2025
Something about the 14-2 record has left people impressed.
After all, Sam Darnold has completed 68.1% of his passes for 4,153 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He looks poised, confident, and aggressive within the O’Connell offense, fully in command of what’s being asked of him. It took some time, but Darnold looks like a passer who has finally figured out how to feed all of the hungry mouths in Minnesota’s offense.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic has been someone who has been observing Darnold’s season. Even better, Russini has insight about what could occur once the season finishes: “They spent a first-round pick on J.J. McCarthy last spring and Darnold is in for a big payday in March. Despite that, after conversations with a team source, one thing is clear: The Vikings want Darnold back in Minnesota for 2025.”
She goes on: “While the original plan was for McCarthy to slowly develop into the starting quarterback while Darnold was there to hold the rookie’s place, McCarthy’s injury changed things. Now, the Vikings have a problem — Darnold has been almost too good (not in a bad way, but in a ‘this is now complicated’ way). McCarthy hasn’t played since August, and realistically he won’t be fully in the mix until spring at the earliest. He’s around the building and with the team constantly but he hasn’t been medically cleared.”
And another thought from Russini: “So, what’s the move? One option on the table: the franchise tag. It’s pricey (more than $40 million) but it buys time. It would give McCarthy another year to develop from the bench, or at least set up a real competition. (There’s nothing wrong with McCarthy sitting — think about what the Packers did with Jordan Love.) And it would give the Vikings a chance to do a shorter-term deal that’s more cap-friendly, yet also gives Darnold similar money to what he’d get on the open market.”
Genuinely, this one could go either way. What I will say is that Minnesota seems very likely to handle the situation professionally. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have offered first-rate leadership and communication since taking over, so they’ll seek to do right by Darnold even as their focus remains on doing what’s best for the Vikings.
Rumor #2 — Rookie Edge Rusher to See an Expanded Role
Good chance, even after the positive update on Monday. Dallas Turner is becoming more important due to the injury to Patrick Jones II, the team’s EDGE3.
Consider the early word from Kevin O’Connell about Jones: “Hopefully we avoided kind of a super long-term injury but I won’t know much more than that until he gets fully evaluated. But expecting him probably to miss a little bit of time. Like I said, I don’t know what that looks like as of right now.” Now, keep in mind that O’Connell was more optimistic on Monday, leaving the door ajar for Jones to play in Week 18.
Turner has been making some huge plays lately. Over these past three games, Turner finds himself at 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 interception. Slowly, the rookie is starting to make his presence felt.
The season has featured Turner playing in fifteen games, though he has yet to earn a start. The pass rusher has 275 defensive snaps and 214 special teams snaps, earning trust from a pair of coordinators (Brian Flores & Matt Daniels) as the season has unfolded. Don’t be shocked if the rookie gets to Jared Goff a time or two before Week 18 finishes.
Rumor #3 — A Vikings Corner is Going to Get a Major Raise
Byron Murphy Jr. has been playing excellent football.
Still only 26 — his birthday arrives on January 18th — Murphy looks to have several more seasons of strong play ahead of him. The 2024 season has involved the veteran picking up 74 tackles, 6 interceptions, 14 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 5 tackles for loss.
Murphy has offered this production while lining up in various spots. Most prominently, Murphy has been an outside corner — 595 snaps — and a slot corner — 298 snaps. But, to be sure, he has been moved around, putting in work in the box (71 snaps), along the d-line (15 snaps), and at free safety (12 snaps).
The former Cardinal got brought to Minnesota during the 2023 offseason. Securing his services meant sending over a two-year commitment that promised to pay just $17.5 million, a deal that’s looking like a bargain as the second season reaches its end. The next deal — whether in Minnesota or elsewhere — is going to come in quite a bit higher.
True, Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin have offered above-average play, but Murphy has emerged as the best corner in Minnesota. In fact, Murphy has improved as the season has progressed. Maybe there’s added motivation given that he’s in a contract year; it’s possible, too, that he has grown more comfortable within the Flores defense. Whatever the reason, Byron Murphy is playing some excellent football.
PFF insists that Murphy is the league’s 17th-best corner, suggesting he’s flirting with high-end CB1 play.
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.