The Minnesota Vikings are going to face stiff competition for QB Sam Darnold if they allow him to reach unrestricted free agency next month.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Sunday, February 9, that the Las Vegas Raiders will seriously consider a run at Darnold if he doesn’t ink an extension with Minnesota before then.
“The one team I would watch with Sam Darnold moving forward would be the Las Vegas Raiders,” Schefter said ahead of the Super Bowl. “I think at some point in time, they’re likely to have some interest in trying to bring Sam Darnold to Las Vegas.”
Sam Darnold’s Market Value Could Prove Problem for Vikings
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
The issue for the Vikings where Darnold is concerned comes down to financial concerns. Minnesota invested the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft in J.J. McCarthy, which potentially affords the franchise the most valuable building block to winning in the modern NFL — a quarterback good enough to win a Super Bowl who is playing on a rookie contract.
McCarthy signed a four-year deal worth $22 million that runs through 2027, and Minnesota has a fifth-year team option that it can exercise to keep him under contract in 2028 at a high (but relatively reasonable) number before investing in a long-term extension.
The problem is that McCarthy hurt his knee in August of last year and missed the entirety of his rookie season. So while there is reason to be optimistic that he can be a franchise quarterback for the Vikings, there is no on-field evidence — at least not in any context that actually counts toward winning and losing in any meaningful games.
Darnold can potentially command up to $160 million on the open market, based on Spotrac’s projection of his value at just over $40 million annually. Minnesota can afford to pay that with north of $61 million in salary cap space available as of Sunday. However, that would seriously hamper the Vikings’ ability to add in free agency to rebuild what could be a depleted secondary in 2025 and what was a problematic interior on the offensive line last season.
J.J. McCarthy Trade Could Salvage Vikings’ NFL Draft Stock
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings could trade McCarthy for potentially a first-round pick and another meaningful draft asset, which would minimize the need to rebuild the roster around Darnold in free agency and push the team toward younger, less expensive talent.
However, that would also mean sacrificing inexpensive and youthful talent under center at the game’s most important position. And while McCarthy is an unknown, he represents a potentially higher ceiling than the one Darnold exhibited in 2024.
Darnold is just 27 years old and put up more than 4,300 yards passing and 35 TDs under head coach Kevin O’Connell’s system. But he also played his two worst games in Week 18, when the Vikings could have earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC by beating the Detroit Lions, and during the first round of the playoffs as Minnesota exited early and looked bad doing it.
A third option for the Vikings is to use the franchise tag (roughly $40 million) to hold onto Darnold in 2025 and either play out the season with he and McCarthy on the roster or attempt to trade the veteran to a team like the Raiders for a moderate return.
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