Vikings Urged to Avoid QB Mistake
After 5 touchdown passes, no turnovers, and a thumping victory over Kirk Cousins’ team, it’s all smiles for Sam Darnold and Minnesota Vikings fans in the Twin Cities.
Vikings Urged to Avoid QB Mistake
Darnold’s reclamation has played out so wonderfully that some fans have begun to envision him as the QB1 in 2025, too, even if the purple team has rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy on the roster, ready and willing to take over the team next autumn.
McCarthy tore his meniscus in August, canceling his rookie campaign.
But some, like The Ringer‘s Sheil Kapadia, have warned Minnesota to avoid falling into the so-called “Daniel Jones trap.” That is — handing an impressive contract to a man whose resume is generally underwhelming.
Kapadia wrote at length about the possibility of the Vikings extending Darnold and started with a warning: “Pay Sam Darnold? Vikings can’t make the Daniel Jones mistake.”
“I’ll be honest. I didn’t think there was any way that Darnold was going to be able to give the Vikings even competent quarterback play this year, let alone above-average quarterback play. I was wrong. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has done a masterful job of scheming up explosive plays, Darnold has an excellent supporting cast, and he’s played the best football of his career by far,” Kapadia explained.
“Before this season, Darnold performed like one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL over a six-year span. Is it more likely that Darnold has suddenly transformed into a different guy, or that the Vikings have a situation that would be conducive for a lot of quarterbacks to thrive? While Darnold has clearly improved, I still think it’s the latter. And I bet that internally, the Vikings think so too.”
Some Vikings fans vehemently push back on any discussion regarding Darnold right now and simply want to enjoy the ride with an 11-2 record through 14 weeks. Darnold’s balling. However, before too long — basically in a hurry — to extend Darnold or let him walk will dominate all things Vikings.
Kapadia continued, “In some ways, this situation has similarities to what we saw with the Giants and Daniel Jones a couple years ago. Jones was a bad starter for three seasons, performed well in 2022, and then the team signed him to a long-term deal. How’d that work out? What makes this situation different is that the Vikings have already invested in their quarterback of the future.”
“They drafted J.J. McCarthy at no. 10 in the 2024 draft. Presumably, they believe that McCarthy (when he gets healthy) can give them the same level of play that Darnold has given them this season. There’s no guarantee they’ll be right about that, but it’s the calculation that they’ve made, and McCarthy will be entering the second year of his rookie deal.”
Ironically, Jones is also on the Vikings’ roster after a free-agent signing two weeks ago.
The main problem for Darnold and the 2025 Vikings is money. Minnesota just ended an era of paying a quarterback — Kirk Cousins — megabucks, instead transitioning to an era with a quarterback on an affordable deal for five years. Re-upping for Darnold at market value would instantly recreate the Cousins Experience — building a roster around an expensive, non-elite quarterback and hoping for the best.
Kapadia concluded, “Now, there’s still time to gather more information. Maybe Darnold continues to improve and plays at an elite level and leads the Vikings to the Super Bowl. Obviously, they would need to reconsider their plan at that point. But right now? There’s no need. Play the season out, and stay clear-eyed about the plan and what’s actually leading to the team’s success. The most likely scenario is that the Vikings thank Darnold for a fun season and move on to McCarthy in 2025.”
In all likelihood, the “Darnold debates” are merely discussions among fans. Unless Darnold wins the Super Bowl with the Vikings, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted McCarthy for a reason, and it wasn’t to let Darnold take his job after a swell season.
Still, some fans will want Darnold back, no matter what. You might recall the Case Keenum ride early in the 2018 offseason. Darnold will be that on steroids.
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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.
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