Fascinating Team Enters the Sam Darnold Sweepstakes
Sam Darnold has totally manufactured a reclamation season with the Minnesota Vikings, leading the purple team to a 13-2 record through 16 weeks and perhaps a 1st-Round bye if Darnold and Co. scoot by the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in the next 10 days.
Fascinating Team Enters the Sam Darnold Sweepstakes
And no one is too sure if the Vikings will re-sign Darnold to an extension, onboarding the 27-year-old with a one-year, $10 million contract last March. Minnesota selected Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy in Round 1 of the draft eight months ago, and the popular consensus suggests that McCarthy, not Darnold, is the Vikings QB1 of the future.
So, Darnold must land somewhere in 2025, with clubs like the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans as theoretical frontrunners 2.5 months before free agency formally kicks off.
But Cleveland.com‘s Mary Kay Cabot claimed this week that the Cleveland Browns should not be ruled out as a Darnold landing spot. She published a mailbag article this week, and one reader asked about Darnold in Cleveland.
Cabot replied, “If the Vikings are willing to part with Sam Darnold, who’s led the team to a 12-2 record this season, he’s certainly the kind of veteran the Browns would be looking for in 2025 — someone who could come in and win for them right away. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has done a phenomenal job with him, and of course it helps to have a premier receiver such as Justin Jefferson catching 80 passes and eight touchdowns for you.”
Darnold is on track to tabulate about 4,300 passing yards and 38 touchdowns by season’s end in 2025.
“If the Browns could get their hands on a QB like that who’s still in the prime of his career at age 27, it would be the ideal situation for next season. With Vikings’ first-round pick J.J. McCarthy due back from his torn meniscus, Darnold could become available, and the Browns would undoubtedly explore him,” Cabot added.
The Browns’ major hurdle to acquiring Darnold — or anybody on a large contract — is Deshaun Watson’s deal. His humongous cap hits hit the books in 2025, dinging Cleveland for $72.935 million per season in 2025 and 2026. If the Browns don’t enjoy Watson at quarterback — he isn’t very good — they might need an affordable solution at QB2.
Darnold, on the other hand, is expected to fetch a contract worth $40-$50 million per season.
In addition to the Browns, Rams, Giants, and Titans, other teams to monitor in the Darnold Sweepstakes might include the Seahawks, Raiders, or Colts.
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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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