The Minnesota Vikings‘ first domino to fall this offseason will be the decision at quarterback — and the sooner it gets done, the sooner they can shift their focus to building the best possible roster for the 2025 season.
Unfortunately, head coach Kevin O’Connell can attest that Sam Darnold has made the decision difficult, admitting that talks are still ongoing with Darnold’s representation.
“We haven’t made that decision yet,” O’Connell said on February 13 on “The Dan Patrick Show.” I talked to really all three, you know, both J.J. [McCarthy], and JJ’s here every day, but I talked to Sam yesterday for a long time, talked to Daniel Jones for a long time. I just want those guys to know that there’s an element in this where our relationship matters. The communication between me and those guys has to be paramount, and the agents and our front office, those conversations will go on. But what we try to build here is something that I hope is always beyond that, above that.”
While making media rounds after his claim of the NFL’s Coach of the Year award, O’Connell said that Darnold has earned the opportunity to be a free agent — which is seen as a sign of the Vikings’ plans with a deadline approaching.
Kevin O’Connell: Sam Darnold’s Free Agency is an Ongoing Process
Vikings Expected to Pass on Franchise-Tagging Sam Darnold
For the 2025 season, the franchise tag window opens from February 18 to March 4. During that time, teams will have the opportunity to announce their potential franchise tags — which are used sparingly in today’s NFL.
That will be no exception in Minnesota, where Darnold is not expected to receive the tag that would keep him under team control at a steep price of roughly $40 million for next season.
“Kevin O’Connell told us Sam Darnold has earned the right to be a free agent,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said Feb. 12 on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “That’s a way of saying we’re not going to use the franchise tag because we don’t want to pay him 40 million.
“I think they’d be willing to keep him if he goes out and exhausts his options elsewhere, decides that he’d rather come back to Minnesota for less than what he could get elsewhere.”
The franchise tag on Darnold would take up nearly 75% of the Vikings’ available cap space to spend in free agency, which they’ll need with 25 pending free agents in-house.
Vikings Have Another Tag at Their Disposal
While the franchise tag seems off the table for Minnesota, there is the transition tag that could be used in Minnesota.
The transition tag would allow the Vikings to match any competing offers for Darnold. It would also be cheaper at $35.2 million for the 2025 season, according to Sports Illustrated.
That still pales in comparison to McCarthy’s $5 million cap hit next season, but the transition tag would buy Minnesota more time to find a trade partner if needed.
There’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with trade partners currently who may not want to express interest in a deal while Darnold is still under contract. They would rather wait to negotiate with Darnold during the tampering period two days before free agency.
However, if Darnold has several suitors, either tag would keep Darnold under team control and give a trade partner exclusive bargaining power in contract talks with Darnold.
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