Questions Answered: Sam Darnold’s Return, an Andrew Van Ginkel Raise, Vikings’ Trades
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the January 30th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Sam Darnold’s Return, an Andrew Van Ginkel Raise, Vikings’ Trades
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: I saw that Tom Pelissero said Sam Darnold could be back with the Vikings. Do you agree?
Answer: No.
He’s not way out of left field or anything; we just disagree.
“I would say on paper the most logical outcome of this is Sam Darnold still in Minnesota. JJ McCarthy missed his entire rookie season coming off knee surgery,” Pelissero told Sportskeeda this week. “They believe in him. They’re not trading J.J. McCarthy. But there’s no precedent for a guy missing an entire year of reps as a rookie and coming back and playing again like it hasn’t happened.”
Pelissero added, “All I know is Sam Darnold played the best football of his career under Kevin O’Connell. The last two games notwithstanding it makes sense for Sam Darnold. All things equal to come back, it makes sense for the Vikings to bring him back. They won 14 games with him. They also have the franchise tag at their disposal if they choose to use it.”
We don’t think the Vikings will spend $30-$45 million on Darnold after just finishing the Kirk Cousins era of budgeting. They’d be doing the same thing: building a roster around an expensive, non-elite quarterback.
Our money is on J.J. McCarthy in 2025.
Q: Should Minnesota give Andrew Van Ginkel a pay raise and extension even if he has one year left on his deal?
Answer: Yes.
He earns $10 million per season, which should be closer to $18 million. With one year left on the deal, it’s unclear if Van Ginkel will ask for an extension, but Minnesota should give it to him.
Gotta keep your players happy, especially the ones who deserve it. Van Ginkel is one of those.
Q: Would you trade up the draftboard if you were the Vikings for Ashton Jeanty?
Answer: No.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah already spent mega draft bucks on Dallas Turner last year. They don’t have the draft capital to trade up the board for a running back.
Plus, this year’s RB draft class is extremely deep. If Jeanty doesn’t fall to Minnesota — he probably won’t — Vikings fans will be happy with a halfback like Kaleb Johnson, Quinshon Judkins, or TreVeyon Henderson.
As a rule of thumb, trading the farm for a running back is a no-no.
Ex-Vikings QB Takes New Job
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 MIN 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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