The Minnesota Vikings hit the jackpot when they signed Sam Darnold to a $10 million contract last season, but that luck may be about to run out.
Minnesota planned for the potential eventuality of a monster season from Darnold before he took his first snap in Week 1.
“General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who comes from an analytics background, primed coach Kevin O’Connell on the very possibility of Darnold playing his way into a multiyear contract before the 2024 season even began,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote on January 28.
And as recently as Super Bowl week, O’Connell dropped serious hints that the Vikings are planning on Darnold being a part of the equation moving forward.
“Our goal is to win a championship, and Sam Darnold is going to be a huge part of it when we do it,” O’Connell said on February 6.
But the only way it makes sense to keep Darnold long-term is if the team trades J.J. McCarthy just one year after making him the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and there has been zero conversation about that coming out of the organization.
As such, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Super Bowl Sunday that he expects the Las Vegas Raiders to serve as top competition for Darnold’s services come free agency. That report has led to projections of players like Daniel Jones or Aaron Rodgers coming in as Darnold’s replacement, as well as predictions on Darnold’s next team.
“Darnold will probably call another NFL city home in 2025. The Raiders make sense,” Nick Brinkerhoff of USA Today wrote Monday. “Pete Carroll watched as Geno Smith revived his NFL career in Seattle. Given the Raiders’ current situation, they could sign the one-year wonder and hope that Darnold’s 2024 is the rule rather than the exception.”
Daniel Jones Most Likely Replacement if Sam Darnold Departs Vikings
GettyQuarterback Daniel Jones of the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones is the most likely replacement for Darnold should he part ways with the Vikings this offseason.
Formerly of the Giants, Jones joined Minnesota’s roster after New York cut him mid-season — just halfway into the first year of a $160 million contract extension. Jones chose the Vikings over other teams where he would have had a better chance to start/play before the end of the season. The fact that he picked Minnesota says something, and O’Connell’s recent comments on Jones say even more.
“I have a lot of confidence that Daniel could have a ton of success in our offense,” O’Connell said during an interview with Pro Football Talk on February 7. “I can’t tell you how many times Justin [Jefferson] or Jordan [Addison] or one of these guys at a practice would say, ‘That was an unbelievable throw.’ This guy can really throw it.”
J.J. McCarthy Most Likely Franchise QB of Vikings Moving Forward
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
If Jones sticks around, he will likely have a chance to earn the starting job during the preseason.
McCarthy is healthy after suffering a knee injury last summer that sidelined him for the entirety of his rookie campaign. However, he still has yet to take a regular-season snap in the NFL, and the Vikings may want to ease him into a starting role — especially coming off a 14-win campaign with expectations sky high.
If Jones doesn’t see a chance to win the job in Minnesota, it wouldn’t be a shock for him to explore free agency when it rolls around in March. There are at least a half dozen teams looking for a starter, and the draft and free agency may not have five others to bear come Week 1.
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