Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Pictures.
Samuel Richard Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 to a splendid 14-3 report, slicing and dicing opposing defenses for 4,319 passing yards, 36 whole touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Vikings Urged to Keep away from Big Mistake in Free Company
He even performed like a fringe MVP candidate till Week 18, when Minnesota visited Ford Discipline for a winner-take-all contest with the Detroit Lions, the place the victor would win the NFC North and safe homefield benefit all through the postseason.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Pictures.
However he performed miserably that evening in Detroit — and even worse the next week in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams within the Wildcard Spherical. Accordingly, the Vikings suffered a one-and-done playoff expertise.
Recommendation discovered from Darnold’s two-game faceplant? Don’t pay him elite cash in free company, says Bleacher Report. Brad Gagnon warned of main NFL errors this offseason, and relating to Darnold, the advice was to keep away from handing him a fats satchel of money.
“I wouldn’t pursue Darnold either, at least if the annual price tag will be up in the $30-plus million range or if it requires a long-term commitment. I like Darnold. He showed in 2024 that he is capable of carrying a talented team with plenty of support for a long stretch. He did not prove that he could continue to do so when it mattered most in January,” Gagnon defined, with free company 5 days away.
“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.”
The message applies to the Vikings, who evidently would get pleasure from Darnold again on the value, and groups just like the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tennessee Titans, also called golf equipment inside Darnold’s rumor mill.
Gagnon added, “But when he completely choked with awful performances in a critical Week 18 loss to the Lions and an even-more-critical playoff loss to the 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.”
On Tuesday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz claimed the Vikings need Darnold again. He tweeted: “Sources: The Vikings and QB Sam Darnold have been in discussions about a short-term deal to keep him in Minnesota. There is mutual interest from both sides following his resurgent season to keep this relationship going, though more work remains. Free agency is in under a week.”
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Pictures.
Schultz added, “Per source, the franchise tag at $40.2M for Sam Darnold was too steep for the Vikings, as they believed it would make negotiating a new deal more difficult while also limiting their ability to build out the rest of the roster. Minnesota still wants Darnold back, but the numbers will need to align.”
With out the franchise tag in place, Minnesota can not commerce Darnold, and as a final resort of kinds, he’d hit free company, which kicks off subsequent Monday, if the Vikings’ brass and Darnold’s illustration can not attain an extension settlement.
For now, Darnold’s estimated market worth approaches $40 million per season, although his depressed commerce market might point out a quantity far more petite.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Pictures.
And per Bleacher Report, no group ought to hand Darnold starter cash as a result of they’ll in all probability remorse it.
Darnold will flip 28 this summer time.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the College of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his every day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The present options company, evaluation, and opinion on all issues associated to the purple group, 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 supplied by Professional Soccer Reference / Stathead; all contractual data supplied by OverTheCap.com.
