3 Hints Suggest Sam Darnold Won’t Be Back with Vikings

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The Minnesota Vikings’ top priority this offseason is deciding a QB1 solution for 2025 and preparing that man for Week 1.

3 Hints Suggest Sam Darnold Won’t Be Back with Vikings

All signs point to J.J. McCarthy for that role, leaving Sam Darnold on deck to test free agency in March or be traded by Minnesota via the franchise tag.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.

Minnesota’s 2024 campaign ended 20 days ago, and folks have wondered about Darnold since: “Will he stay or leave?” Recently, however, a few hints suggest Darnold may depart the franchise. These are the hints.

1. The Instagram Post

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.

With his future up in the air, Darnold posted — what seemed like — a sentimental goodbye note on Instagram.

“Year 7… So grateful for my teammates, coaches, and the entire organization. We created memories and relationships that will last a lifetime and we got to do it in front of the best fanbase in the world #SKOL,” Darnold wrote one week ago.

Darnold is not overly active on social media; to the naked ear, that sounded like a goodbye.

2. The Salary Cap

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The Vikings recently ended the Kirk Cousins era, a six-year period when some fans routinely complained about paying a non-elite signal-caller … Top 10 quarterback money.

If Minnesota re-signs Darnold, it will do that over again with no delineation.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has carefully scripted his “competitive rebuild” over the last three years. Re-upping with Darnold for $30-$45 million feels a bit backward, at least per the conventional plan of surrounding a rookie quarterback with a dazzling roster for 4-5 years.

Minnesota has the money to re-sign Darnold, but then other external free agents would be off the table. Just like the Cousins era. The Vikings would return to bargain bin shopping.

3. The Verbiage

Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and Nick Mullens (12) run on the field before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. © Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

Per the lips of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, Darnold kind of sounds like a player on his way out. “The other phase of it for Sam is acknowledging the things that made him a winning quarterback this year. The consistency and the times he had it throughout the year and what that meant for our team. Because I think that can stay with him moving forward as he goes back to work,” O’Connell explained after the 2024 season ended.

“Proud of him. Proud of everybody in that locker room but Sam and the journey him and I went on this year will always be something that has a special place in my heart, for sure.”

Always be something that has a special place in my heart — sounds like the verbiage of break-up. That’s what a man or woman says when departing a romantic relationship on good terms.

Also, in December, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips spoke about Darnold as a short-timer. “I think we all know that Sam is going to be a sought-after type of guy from wherever that may be. Whatever his future ends up being, I know all of us in this building are going to be happy for him, no matter where that ends up being. I don’t think he has to worry about that anymore,” Phillips told reporters.

“I would hope he would kind of say, ‘Hey, the body of work that I’ve put in so far is going to take care of the future. Really, all I need to worry about is right now.'”

“The worry might’ve been, ‘OK, this might be my opportunity to play.’ He’s past all that. He’s proven the doubters, and he’s proven that he can play in this league. Let’s just make this the best possible season we can have,” Phillips continued.

The Vikings seem to talk about Darnold in the past tense.


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. 

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