Should the Vikings Have Kept Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones?
Following a 14-win season with Sam Darnold, there was understandably a groundswell of opinion in some quarters that the Minnesota Vikings should have brought him back for one more year, or even kept Daniel Jones, who signed with the team late last season.
VikingsTerritory looks at whether the Vikings should have kept Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones for the 2025 season.
It would have given the Vikings a good starter as insurance as JJ McCarthy returned from injury. Should the Vikings have kept Darnold or Jones? Let’s try to answer that question.
What Could Have Been on Sam Darnold & Daniel Jones on the 2025 Vikings
With both Darnold and Jones making good starts at their new teams – Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, respectively – and McCarthy largely struggling outside one excellent quarter of football, and then being sidelined with injury. There has been plenty of chatter regarding Minnesota making a mistake by not at least making a more concerted effort to keep one of Darnold or Jones.
Darnold has led the Seahawks to a 3-2 start – it could have been 4-1 if not for an interception from a deflected Darnold pass. He ranks sixth in passing yards so far this season with 1246 yards from five games, with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
He is showing that 2024 wasn’t just a one-off and that he can produce consistent numbers as a starting QB. Darnold has the Seahawks competitive in a good division that has seen the Rams and 49ers start strong.
The bigger surprise has been Jones’ success in Indianapolis. Few people foresaw a starting gig for the former New York Giant when he landed on the Vikings practice squad towards the end of last season, but the Colts took the gamble, and it is paying off and ranking third in the league for passing yards with 1290, and throwing six touchdowns to two interceptions while also rushing for three touchdowns.
Jones has led the Colts to a 5-1 start, which is the best across the league. I would caveat this by saying both interceptions came in the loss to the LA Rams, and wins have come over the Raiders, Titans, Dolphins, and Cardinals – three of the worst teams in the league – but the victory over the Broncos was a good one, and Jones has done a good job so far for the Colts.
What Difference Would Darnold or Jones Have Made?
The key thing to ask is what difference Darnold or Jones would have made to the 2025 Vikings and beyond. Both are young enough to be a team’s starting QB for a considerable length of time – Darnold (28), Jones (28). Despite some indifferent QB play, Minnesota hit the bye week with a winning record and sits alongside Darnold’s Seahawks in the hunt for the playoffs.
Indeed, both have outperformed McCarthy and Carson Wentz so far, but Darnold was considerably more expensive to keep. Signing a 3-year, $100.5 million contract. The Vikings chose to spend that money in the trenches with the likes of Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, Javon Hargrove, and Jonathan Allen arriving. A move that many, including myself, lauded as wise.
Darnold has impressed with around 1500 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, but not wanting to spend big on the QB when they had a first-rounder waiting for his chance made sense at the time.
Daniel Jones was the more affordable option, but a $14 million deal with the Colts and a more likely chance at being named the immediate starter ahead of Anthony Richardson swayed Jones to leave town.
There was a strong sense that the Vikings would have liked to keep Jones around, but it didn’t happen, as the team instead brought in Sam Howell, only for him to lose out in training camp to undrafted rookie quarterback Max Brosmer.
Ideally, the Vikings would have kept Jones. We are not privy to any conversations between the two parties, but perhaps an indication of a chance to compete with McCarthy for the starting role should have been made.
The Verdict
The decision by Minnesota was one with a long-term vision. One that would see the Vikings winning the Super Bowl. That might look a long way off after McCarthy’s first two outings, but there’s still room for him to grow into the QB the Vikings hope he is.
Darnold and Jones might have had good starts to this season, but it would be way too quick to say they are playing their teams into being genuine Super Bowl contenders, and that’s what they’d need to be to make sense for the Vikings.
While getting to the playoffs might be a good step for the Seahawks and Colts this season. Minnesota has seen plenty of playoff football, but with a swift exit in recent years, it has generally done so by paying a hefty price for someone else’s quarterback. The time has come to let O’Connell – a man widely praised for his ability to coach the position – have a chance to build up a QB from the beginning. Throwing in the towel after just two games doesn’t make sense, and the Vikings won’t do that.
Should the Vikings have kept Darnold or Jones? I’m still comfortable with the team moving on from both, and whether McCarthy turns out to be a success or not. It was the right decision at the time.
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