Lions Reporter Ignites Major Vikings Controversy
The annual NFL honors were quite a success for the Vikings. Although Sam Darnold didn’t win Comeback Player of the Year (primarily because he wasn’t injured last season) and Brian Flores came up short against Chicago’s new head coach Ben Johnson for the best assistant coach, two other Vikings reached their goals for the evening.
Lions Reporter Ignites Major Vikings Controversy
U.S. Bank Stadium Ring of Honor member Jared Allen was finally chosen to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other big winner was head coach Kevin O’Connell, who became the first Viking to earn the Coach of the Year award since Bud Grant in 1969.
O’Connell, of course, led a team with low preseason expectations (the common over-under was set at 6.5) to the playoffs with a fantastic 14-3 record. He also elevated the play of the quarterback Sam Darnold to a Pro Bowl level.
Darnold is in the final weeks of his one-year contract, but his play in the last season is expected to make him a rich man in free agency. His asking price will likely be around $35 million, and he will have some suitors.
One of them, however, could be the Vikings.
After the ceremony, O’Connell appeared on the podium and was available to answer questions. He first talked about the 2024 Vikings, and then he was asked about Darnold. The coach mentioned a story from Darnold’s college days and praised his physical tools.
Dave Birkett, a Lions sports writer, however, posted on X: “Kevin O’Connell in his Coach of the Year news conference: ‘Our goal is to win a championship and Sam Darnold is going to be a huge part of it when we do it.’ Sure sounds like Vikings want to ride with Darnold next year.”
The problem with that post? It’s entirely wrong. O’Connell said that exact sentence. However, he didn’t say that about Darnold, but when he was speaking about his star wideout Justin Jefferson.
The entire video of his media session ‒ including the Darnold and Jefferson parts ‒ can be found here.
Confronted with it, O’Connell later clarified the statement: “I don’t necessarily think that was 100 percent accurate. It was in the spirit of answering a question about Sam’s season and what he was able to do this year. And then the follow up in regards to what it’s going to take to win a championship. Look, you guys know how I feel about Sam. He is a guy who we identified last year as someone who could come in and be successful, and really, no matter where he was before he arrived, it was about maximizing our time together. And I think we did that.”
He undoubtedly got the best out of his passer. Darnold threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns in what was easily the best season of his career.
O’Connell continued, “I think it was a very special year for Sam, and what that earned him is that everybody in our league thinks he’s a bonafide, legitimate starting quarterback in our league and can win a lot of football games. He won 14 of them. So, he’s earned the right to be a free agent. But we will continue to have ongoing dialogue and discussions with him and his representation, as well as being really excited about J.J. McCarthy and where he’s at in his rehab.”
Darnold showed that he can be a productive signal-caller in the right offense. He has the arm and the mobility to do some damage. However, he also showed a ceiling. His final two games of the season surely didn’t help his case with the Vikings or other interested teams.
J.J. McCarthy, meanwhile, is quite optimistic about his own recovery.
Earlier this week, the 22-year-old told Sports Illustrated: “It’s going amazing; ahead of schedule, on track, whatever you want to call it, but it’s going good, and we’ll be ready in around 67 days for OTAs, and we’re running, throwing, everything feels great.”
McCarthy also asked for a fair chance. Paying Darnold a significant salary would almost certainly rule out any fair chance he could get for however long Darnold will be under contract.
Free agency begins on March 10. The Vikings can use the franchise tag on Darnold on February 18. The future of Minnesota’s QB room will be determined in the next few weeks, and, at this point, it is a total mystery.
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