Tuesday Is the Big Deadline for Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have about seven weeks of the offseason in the books, with the truly exciting parts next in free agency and the draft.
Tuesday Is the Big Deadline for Vikings
Free agency kicks off in one week, and Minnesota has about $63 million to spend during the weeks-long event. The 2025 NFL Draft occurs six weeks later in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
But the purple offseason will encounter a major deadline on Tuesday, shaping pretty much everything the rest of the way.
The Deadline: Last Day to Franchise Tag Sam Darnold
At midnight on Wednesday, if there is no franchise tag in play, the Vikings will have one option regarding Darnold’s future: extending him.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must apply the franchise tag on Monday night or by Tuesday at 3:00 pm CST if he wishes to trade his 2024 QB1. Minnesota has just four draft picks this go-round, and some eager Vikings have hoped for weeks, if not months, that the purple team would play hardball with Darnold, tagging him and then trading him to a destination of its choosing.
Such a move would terminate Darnold’s freedom to choose his next destination on the open market. Those in favor of the franchise tag-and-trade simply do not care about Darnold’s personal preference. It’s all about empowering the team, disregarding the long-term implication for the Vikings’ glowing reputation for player treatment.
In theory, Adofo-Mensah could tag Darnold and trade him to a team like the Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, or Tennessee Titans. Only Adofo-Mensah knows for sure how much trade capital Darnold would fetch, but a safe assumption is the equivalent of a 2nd- or 3rd-Round draft pick at best.
If Darnold leaves in free agency — that process in one week away — his departure will enable Minnesota to grab a compensatory draft pick in 2026, or at least factor in the NFL’s complicated formula. Adofo-Mensah experienced the phenomenon with Kirk Cousins last offseason. Minnesota will likely pick 97th in the 3rd Round of April’s draft because of his free-agent exit.
No matter what, Tuesday is the final day to explore a Darnold trade.
Some Vikings fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, have made trading Darnold a personality-defining trait over the last few weeks, though the application and process are unlikely to materialize. They often claim Adofo-Mensah is clueless about how the process works, that he is negligent, or that a failure to trade Darnold would result in malpractice.
What the World Says about Tagging Darnold
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Monday, the day before the franchise tag deadline: “Personally, I’d be surprised if the franchise tag is used on Sam Darnold.”
Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline reported Sunday at the NFL Combine that a Darnold trade likely wouldn’t come to fruition. “During my Saturday notes article from the combine, I mentioned reports elsewhere stated the Vikings could pull a tag and trade on Sam Darnold. This morning, a source told me emphatically that they won’t tag the quarterback, and Darnold will hit the free agent market,” Pauline explained.
There’s also the element of time — the Vikings probably would’ve tagged Darnold by now if there were a trade partner.
The Prediction
The franchise tag, as a standalone tactic, would cost Minnesota about $40 million in 2025. It has $63 million in cap space. That’s 63.5%. Utilizing the tag and then getting “stuck” with Darnold due to stalled trade talks would result in the Vikings having mere pennies to spend on free agents. Imagine the outrage over that badboy and the “malpractice” chants at Adofo-Mensah accordingly. Woof.
The risk may not be worth it.
If one operates under the assumption that Minnesota will get a compensatory pick for Darnold’s exit in 2026, like Cousins in 2024-2025, the variance between a trade and a free-agent exodus is not that vast.
The Vikings will likely hold back on the franchise tag and allow Darnold to hit the open market.
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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