The 8 Most Logical Landing Spots for Sam Darnold
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold signed a one-year deal with the purple team nine months ago, while general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy six weeks later.
The 8 Most Logical Landing Spots for Sam Darnold
No one is too sure if Darnold will return to the Vikings in 2025 — it’ll be a popular debate topic when the 2024 regular season ends.
Generally speaking, though, as Darnold has rekindled his career in the Twin Cities, these are the eight most likely landing spots for Darnold next season.
8. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts will likely stay committed to Anthony Richardson — they should — and the current QB2, Joe Flacco, is old.
Indianapolis could sign Darnold to a deal in the ballpark of two years and $60 million and let Richardson watch and develop in 2025.
This destination isn’t all that likely, but it cannot be entirely excluded from the list. It all depends on the Colts’ front office’s offseason opinion of Richardson.
7. Cleveland Browns
Cleveland is already paying Deshaun Watson mucho dinero, reducing the odds of Darnold ending up with Kevin Stefanski’s team. However, if Jameis Winston vamooses this offseason, the Browns will need another startable backup plan because, well, Watson isn’t very good.
That could be Darnold, and he’d be in good hands with Stefanski, a former quarterbacks coach for the Vikings.
The hurdle here will be money. Watson’s cap hit in 2025 is $73 million, so quarterback dollars on the budget are more than robust.
6. Las Vegas Raiders
The start of the “bridge quarterback” options, Las Vegas could ink Darnold in March to patch him over to a rookie that the Raiders draft in April.
Las Vegas is virtually guaranteed to draft a quarterback, and if that guy needs a few games to acclimate — see: Drake Maye in New England this season — Darnold would be up for the task.
5. Tennessee Titans
Will Levis still has plenty of time to develop into a startable NFL quarterback, but will the Titans have the patience?
Tennessee may seek a high-end backup in 2025 or cut bait with Levis altogether. That would make Darnold a solution from two angles — insurance for Levis or a bridge quarterback to a passer drafted in April.
Tennessee will give Mason Rudolph another look this week, so there’s clearly quarterback uncertainty.
4. Minnesota Vikings
Should Darnold not find a ginormous payday on the open free-agent market, his safest bet is to return with the Vikings and be one step away from QB1 if another injury besets J.J. McCarthy.
His first season as a Vikings has played out pretty damn well, and this Vikings front office loves to hedge its bets. The rub will be money, as most don’t expect Minnesota to spend $40+ million on a quarterback. That era hit the pause button when Kirk Cousins left earlier this year.
3. Seattle Seahawks
Not long ago, the Seahawks signed Geno Smith as their quasi-long-term QB1 solution. They have the pedigree to do it again with Darnold, who’d represent an improvement over Smith if he carries his newfound skill set from Minnesota to Seattle.
Smith has no more guaranteed money left on his contract. The 2025 offseason feels like a natural divorce point if the Seahawks miss the postseason.
Darnold could cook with DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker III, and Zach Charbonnet.
2. New York Giants
The Giants released Daniel Jones last month, a stunning development considering he was the QB1 solution after defeating Minnesota in the playoff less than two years ago. He ended up with the Vikings. What a world.
Like Minnesota this year, New York will likely invest high-round draft capital in a quarterback and then desire a veteran to show that man the ropes.
Darnold would be a wise fit, and he’d basically do for the Giants in 2025 what he did for the Vikings in 2024.
1. Los Angeles Rams
If Matthew Stafford retires after this season — that’s a real possibility — circle Darnold as the number-one-with-a-bullet-option to take over in Los Angeles.
If the Vikings offense can cook with Darnold at QB1, so can the Rams’.
Darnold could also venture to Los Angeles as Stafford’s backup and heir apparent. This one makes too much sense.
It’s also worth noting that Stafford has just $4 million guaranteed left on his current deal. This offseason could be a jump-off point, and Darnold + McVay would click. This would be a carbon copy of Baker Mayfield establishing himself as the Buccaneers’ long-term starter.
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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