Sam Darnold Trade Rumors Turn White Hot
If you wanted the Minnesota Vikings to obtain a 2025 draft pick via trade instead of a 2026 selection via compensatory reimbursement for Sam Darnold, you might be in luck.
Sam Darnold Trade Rumors Turn White Hot
The Vikings have about two days to franchise tag-and-trade Darnold, the team’s QB1 last season, and according to SportsKeeda‘s Tony Pauline, the Las Vegas Raiders might come calling.
“After losing out on Matthew Stafford, what will the Las Vegas Raiders do next? There are still persistent rumors they may try to trade up for a quarterback in the draft. People close to Sam Darnold tell me that Raiders coach Pete Carroll will work to make a move to acquire the quarterback from the Vikings,” Pauline wrote this weekend.
Carroll coached at USC for nine seasons in the 2000s. That’s also Darnold’s alma mater.
The NFL’s franchise tag deadline is Tuesday, March 4th, so the Vikings absolutely must apply the tag and trade Darnold by then if a willing partner exists.
Pauline continued, “As has been reported elsewhere, Minnesota is seriously considering a tag-and-trade option with Darnold, similar to what the Packers did with Davante Adams just a few years ago before the Raiders acquired the receiver.”
“Even before all the Stafford and now Darnold rumors to the Raiders started, I heard that the team was seriously considering cutting quarterback Gardner Minshew, who still has guaranteed money in his contract.”
A tag-and-trade would exhiliriate Vikings fans, mainly because this draft is pretty damn deep per talent, and Minnesota has just four picks heading into the event — a 1st-Rounder, a soon-to-be compensatory 3rd-Rounder for Kirk Cousins’ departure last year, and two 5th-Rounders. Optimists have maintained hope all offseason that Minnesota could tag-and-trade Darnold, brushing aside Darnold’s two-game collapse that ended the Vikings’ 14-3 season.
What might a Darnold-Raiders trade look like? There are a few possibilities.
Example No. 1
Vikings Get:
— Pick No. 6
Raiders Get:
— Sam Darnold
— Pick No. 24
Example No. 2
Vikings Get:
— OG Jordan Meredith
— Pick No. 107 (R4)
Raiders Get:
— Sam Darnold
Example No. 3
Vikings Get:
— OG Dylan Parham
— Pick No. 107 (R4)
Raiders Get:
— Sam Darnold
Example No. 4
Vikings Get:
— Pick No. 37 (R2)
Raiders Get:
— Sam Darnold
— Pick No. 161 (R5)
Example No. 5
Vikings Get:
— Pick No. 68 (R3)
— Pick No. 73 (R3)
Raiders Get:
— Sam Darnold
— Pick No. 161 (R5)
Example No. 6
Vikings Get:
— DT Christian Wilkins
Raiders Get:
— Sam Darnold
— 2026 3rd-Rounder
The Vikings’ leadership has subtly hinted all offseason that Darnold will likely test free agency, but the group also could not pass up an advantageous trade offer, which the Raiders might deliver to nab Darnold before he hits the open market.
Darnold will turn 28 this summer.
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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