The Minnesota Vikings remade the image of QB Sam Darnold, who is now set to cash in on one magical year in Minneapolis.
Ryan McFadden predicted that Darnold will sign a three-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason for a total of $125 million, which will include $55 million in guaranteed money. The Vikings inked Darnold to a one-year contract for just $10 million in 2024 before he went on to throw for north of 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns.
“New Raiders coach Pete Carroll wants his team to win right away, and the key to making his goal a reality is landing a franchise quarterback,” McFadden wrote Wednesday, March 5. “This year’s QB draft class isn’t as strong as last year, which could force Las Vegas to be aggressive in free agency and give Darnold a big-time deal after a career season. He’s only 27 years old, and his skill set should fit coordinator Chip Kelly’s offense. The AFC West is loaded at quarterback, and Darnold can make an immediate impact, which the Raiders desperately need. They were 30th in QBR last season at 40.4.”
Some NFL Analysts Calling Any Signing of Sam Darnold to Big Contract a Mistake
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
McFadden isn’t the first to predict Darnold to the desert, and he won’t be the last ahead of free agency’s official opening on March 12. In fact, Las Vegas has been the primary projection for Darnold from analysts across the national NFL landscape for several weeks.
What has kept the expectation interesting is how little faith some have in Darnold outside of Kevin O’Connell’s system. Kelly has been a head coach in the league and coached offense in the NFL before as well, and he just led Ohio State’s offense to a national championship in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
Darnold has a big arm and is only 27 years old. But he didn’t really succeed anywhere in six years and three stops before landing with O’Connell in 2024. And because of that, analysts like Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report are suggesting that paying Darnold big money is among the top list items of mistakes to avoid this offseason.
“Darnold is a great bridge quarterback and a superb backup. He’s an insurance policy for a contender that may need the coverage in a pinch,” Gagnon wrote on March 4. “But when he completely choked with awful performances in a critical Week 18 loss to the [Detroit] Lions and an even-more-critical playoff loss to the [Los Angeles] Rams, he reminded us why he was on his fourth roster in a five-year span. Somebody will make it five in six, and there’s a good chance they’ll regret it.”
Sam Darnold Now Highly Unlikely to Return to Vikings in 2025
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota has said publicly that it wants Darnold back, though only at the right price.
The team has also said that J.J. McCarthy is the franchise QB moving forward and then chose not to use the franchise tag to keep Darnold in-house on a one-year deal that would have cost approximately $40 million.
Thus, the Vikings’ choice of words and choice of actions make it appear unlikely Darnold will return to Minnesota for a second season.
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