New Minnesota VIkings quarterback Sam Darnold at June 2024 minicamp. Eagan, Minnesota. TCO Performance Center. Darnold has played with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers in his six-year career.
The summer version of Sam Darnold is rather elite, and his introduction to the Minnesota Vikings is no different.
Darnold and his 90 teammates kicked off training camp this week, and just like summers past, Darnold is already turning heads in Eagan, very much looking the part of a franchise quarterback.
The Vikings unleashed footage like this on Wednesday:
And that was just one sweet throw of many as Darnold acclimates to the Vikings’ offense, a group he will likely lead in 2024, at least out of the gate in Week 1. Darnold is the odds-on frontrunner to take the QB1 baton into the new season, though some fans hold out hope that rookie passer J.J. McCarthy can score a summer upset and win the job as a 21-year-old.
The San Francisco 49ers employed Darnold as a QB2 in 2023, a contingency plan for Brock Purdy. Ultimately, the 49ers reached the Super Bowl with Purdy, and Darnold wasn’t much needed. He hit free agency a month later, and Minnesota pounced for one year and $10 million.
Teams led by Darnold are 21-35 (.375) in 56 career starts, mostly the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. In six seasons, he’s banked 63 passing touchdowns and 56 interceptions, with 182.8 passing yards per game. New Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown was a teammate of Darnold with the New York Jets in 2018. There’s a connection there.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Darnold has dazzled in July or August. In May, NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport said about Darnold and the Vikings quarterback battle: “We don’t always get quarterback competition, and this is a real one. The fact that Sam Darnold is in there. I have also heard he has looked good, he is going to look good. Something he has done his entire career, when it’s the spring, when it’s the preseason or when he has been unbothered, he has looked excellent. It’s really a matter of when he gets in games, is he the same quarterback when it doesn’t all go perfectly?”
The real knock on Darnold — the item separating him from stardom and living up to this 2018 draft stock — is turnovers. He’s produced 94 interceptions and fumbles in 66 career games. That’s one pick or fumble every 2.8 quarters.
Former Viking and league MVP Rich Gannon mentioned Darnold and the turnovers last month. Gannon joined the Purple Insider podcast in June and sized up Darnold. “My overall assessment of Sam Darnold is that he’s an extremely talented player. He’s very athletic, he’s got good feet, he’s got a big-time arm, he can make all the throws,” Gannon explained. “He’s a young guy. He’s 26 years old. It’s stupid that he’s been in the league six years and he’s 26 years old.”
“If he doesn’t understand and can’t figure out the importance of ball security, then he’s never going to survive in this league,” Gannon noted. “I don’t care who he’s playing with, who the play caller is, any of that.”
Gannon also suggested Darnold’s would-be mindset: “If I get that opportunity and we start the season and we get off to a good start then I ain’t coming out, that’s my mindset. They don’t have to play JJ if we’re 7-2 then this is going to be my opportunity. If you’re Sam, that’s all you want. An opportunity to show people that I’m a different player and I’ve matured and developed into a quarterback who can be trusted. Reliable, dependable and consistent.”
So, while Darnold is off to a hot start in Minnesota, this is what the man does. He’ll have to translate the production into September and beyond — and that involves minimizing turnovers.
Especially with this statistic in living color for the Kevin O’Connell-led Vikings:
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.