Sam Darnold’s Free Agency Profile, Ranking, and Outlook
The best guess around the Twin Cities is that Sam Darnold is going to get the chance to test free agency. After all, that’s what his head coach indicated.
Still only 27, Darnold is a 6’3″, 225-pound quarterback with a cannon for an arm. Even better, Darnold proved to be more accurate than his career completion percentage — currently up to 61.2% — by completing 66.2% of his passes in 2024. Alongside the percentage were 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Where does the passer come in in terms of free agency rankings and outlook?
Sam Darnold and the Upcoming Free Agency Period
To get a sense of Darnold’s outlook, I turned to free agency rankings from three notable spots: PFF, ESPN, and CBS. Consider where they rank him and what they have to say about his free agency.
Sam Darnold FA Profile #1 — PFF
Estimated Contract: Three-Year Deal for $123.75 Million
“The debate surrounding Darnold in the 2025 offseason will likely focus on whether he can be more than just a bridge quarterback. While his raw regular-season stats were impressive — 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions — his performance in key areas was more mixed, with 33 big-time throws balanced by 24 turnover-worthy plays.”
Sam Darnold FA Profile #2 — ESPN
Estimated Contract: “around three years and $100 million with strong guarantees”
“Darnold had a bounce-back year under Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota, as his 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdown throws both ranked fifth in the league. His decision-making late in the down is still questionable, and he had a 14.8 QBR over the Vikings’ two losses to end the season. But with his arm strength and mobility, Darnold will have options on the market given the need for the position across the league.”
Sam Darnold FA Profile #3 — CBS
Estimated Contract: “near $40 million per season”
“Sam Darnold resurrected his career with the Vikings, putting up big numbers and leading them to the playoffs. But he fizzled in his final two games, including a playoff loss, and that has some personnel people concerned. Even so, in a quarterback-needy league, he will get action if the Vikings don’t keep him off the market. I’d look for a deal near $40 million per season.”
Conclusions, Thoughts, & Takeaways
Something to note before moving further: PFF puts Darnold at 9th overall in their free agency rankings, ESPN has him at 6th overall, and CBS has Darnold coming in at 1st.
In terms of which free agent could reasonably land the contract that’s worth the most money, Darnold could very well take the top spot. Seeing a deal get to three or four years could be the key, but teams likely won’t be too shy about doing so given his youth and the toughness he showed off last season leading Minnesota.
From Minnesota’s perspective, a large part of the appeal of Darnold last year was that they were buying low. To a certain extent, the same could be said about his pending free agency given his Houdini act in Week 18 and then in the playoffs, but there’s no doubt that the single-season deal coming in at $10 million won’t be happening again. Much likelier for the Vikings is a scenario where Darnold gets to flirt with the NFL and quickly becomes too expensive.
The current outlook is that Minnesota has roughly $63.3 million in cap space.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
