Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports activities.
NFL free company kicks off in lower than one month, a interval of speedy participant motion when groups bolster rosters for the upcoming season.
Vikings Participant Referred to as “Crown Jewel” of Free Company
The Minnesota Vikings have in-house 25 free brokers, and one is outwardly the crown jewel of all of them: quarterback Sam Darnold.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Photographs.
Bleacher Report ranked free company by every place this week, and when BR’s Gary Davenport arrived at No. 1, the quarterback spot acquired the nod, and Darnold was coined the “crown jewel.”
“Then there’s the crown jewel of the free-agent market under center. Sam Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 regular season and finished fifth in the league in passing yards and touchdown passes. That gets players paid, especially when they haven’t turned 30 yet,” he wrote.
Darnold produced an impressive season till the ultimate two video games in 2024, delivering 36 complete touchdowns and 4,319 passing yards. However Minnesota drafted McCarthy final offseason as its proposed quarterback resolution of the long run, and most count on him to take the reins subsequent season, not Darnold.
Davenport added, “It shouldn’t come as any huge surprise that quarterback tops this list. It’s the most important position in the NFL, and teams in the market for a new starter (or even a bridge option) have a number of experienced options to choose from […] No team wants to be on the hunt for a quarterback, but 2025 is a good year to have that predicament.”
Justin Fields took residence the “best value” title from the BR article.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell commented on his workforce’s quarterback plans final weekend, a sizzling matter amongst purple followers. “We drafted him 10th overall for a reason,” O’Connell informed CBS Sports activities on Saturday about McCarthy, his 22-year-old passer.
Steve Roberts-Imagn Photographs.
O’Connell added, “I believe Sam has played himself into being kind of the marquee free-agent quarterback available. I do believe that his teammates and coaches and, our front office, and myself would love to have Sam back in Minnesota. But at the same time we do feel very confident in J.J. McCarthy. He’s healthy.”
Most construed these feedback as a dedication to McCarthy and a forecast for Darnold to certainly check free company.
Too, Darnold posted — what appeared like — a sentimental goodbye observe on Instagram late final month.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photographs.
“Year 7… So grateful for my teammates, coaches, and the entire organization. We created memories and relationships that will last a lifetime and we got to do it in front of the best fanbase in the world #SKOL,” Darnold wrote on January twenty fourth.
The Las Vegas Raiders are the odds-on favorites to signal the crown jewel. Different golf equipment, such because the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans, might additionally nibble at Darnold’s free company.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the College of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his each day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The present options company, evaluation, and opinion on all issues associated to the purple workforce, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates again to 1996. Listed responsible pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doorways (the band). He follows the NBA as carefully because the NFL.
All statistics offered by Professional Soccer Reference / Stathead; all contractual info offered by OverTheCap.com.
