NFL Insider Pumps Brakes on Sam Darnold Theories

The Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 offseason is about 2.5 weeks old, and most of the team’s fans have decided that quarterback Sam Darnold will likely lead a different team next season.
NFL Insider Pumps Brakes on Sam Darnold Theories
Minnesota has J.J. McCarthy ready and waiting to take over the QB1 job, as the Vikings drafted him 10th overall last April. McCarthy tore his meniscus last summer during the preseason, canceling his rookie season. Darnold filled in admirably, delivering 4,319 passing yards, 36 total touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

And just as onlookers, for the most part, have accepted Darnold’s possible exit from the franchise, NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero dialed back that theory this week. He spoke with Sportskeeda and sang a different tune about Darnold’s offseason.
“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 opined. “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.”

Darnold played wonderfully for 16 games, guiding Minnesota to an unforeseen 14-2 record entering Week 18. Yet, the 27-year-old crumbled in the final two games, causing the Vikings to lose a winner-take-all matchup against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field that would’ve awarded Minnesota homefield advantage and again the following week in the Wildcard Round of the postseason.
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.”

Darnold substantially increased his value in 2024, playing on a one-year, $10 million contract. During free agency this March, he can probably grab a deal worth $30-$50 million per year on the open market. The Vikings paying that salary — after just finishing six years of investing in Kirk Cousins — might be a bit backward with McCarthy on the roster.
If Pelissero is incorrect and Darnold exits via free agency or franchise tag-and-trade, teams like the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, or Seattle Seahawks could explore him as a QB1 candidate.

Darnold will turn 28 this summer.
Sportsbooks believe McCarthy will open the season as Minnesota’s QB1 in September.
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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