There’s a U-Turn in the Sam Darnold Sweepstakes
Exactly one year ago, the Minnesota Vikings were in the same position, with a starting quarterback in the final days of his employment and uncertainty at the QB position. Last year, it was Kirk Cousins who ultimately left to join the Atlanta Falcons. This time, Sam Darnold might leave town.
There’s a U-Turn in the Sam Darnold Sweepstakes
Darnold’s outstanding 35-touchdown season earned him a significant raise in free agency, perhaps too much for the Vikings, especially because of the main difference compared to a year ago: J.J. McCarthy is in the building and can just take over.
The rumor mill has expectedly gone crazy about the third overall pick from 2018, with numerous options still on the table for the Vikings. A franchise tag is still possible for another couple of days, a contract extension can be reached until free agency on March 10th, and the club could still re-sign their Pro Bowler at any point.
Tony Pauline from Sportskeeda reported from the draft combine on Saturday, “After losing out on Matthew Stafford, what will the Las Vegas Raiders do next? There are still persistent rumors they may try to trade up for a quarterback in the draft. People close to Sam Darnold tell me that Raiders coach Pete Carroll will work to make a move to acquire the quarterback from the Vikings.”
A day later, the reporter changed his tune: “During my Saturday notes article from the combine, I mentioned reports elsewhere stated the Vikings could pull a tag and trade on Sam Darnold. This morning, a source told me emphatically that they won’t tag the quarterback, and Darnold will hit the free agent market.”
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Pauline is right this time. However, it surely takes some new information coming across his desk for him to backtrack an entire item like that.
He continued by throwing the Colts into the mix: “So where does Darnold end up? Besides the Las Vegas Raiders and NewYork Giants, the likely suspects, people think the Colts will be in the market for the third pick of the 2018 draft. I mentioned several days ago that Indianapolis will look to add a veteran quarterback to the roster, not just a backup but someone who could come in and start if Anthony Richardson falters. Darnold fits the bill.”
Anthony Richardson has been a massive disappointment through two campaigns. He has shown intriguing flashes, but enormous inconsistencies and some injury concerns could lead the Colts to throw money at the QB position to finally fix the issues the club has had since Andrew Luck’s retirement.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler supports Pauline’s latest reports about Darnold hitting free agency, but he didn’t mention the Colts.
“While the Vikings are open to Sam Darnold returning, I continue to hear they won’t mortgage the future to keep him. There’s not much momentum coming out of the combine that the Vikings will franchise tag Darnold, who should have multiple suitors if available. The Giants, Raiders and Titans are among the logical options. And I’m not totally discounting the Steelers here — not yet, at least. As one high-ranking official with a QB-needy team pointed out to me, Darnold won 14 games for the Vikings in 2024 and is the best option on the market by a wide margin.”
He continued to emphasize that Daniel Jones should be viewed as a serious option to build Minnesota’s QB duo in the 2025 season.
When Matthew Stafford confirmed he would stay with the Rams, Darnold became the undisputed top option in this year’s free-agent market for quarterbacks. At the age of 27, coming off a Pro Bowl season, he should generate some serious buzz when the legal tampering window opens on March 10th.
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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