The Minnesota Vikings have their quarterback of the future in 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ready to part ways with Sam Darnold just yet.
Darnold, who signed a one-year deal with Minnesota last March, is set to hit free agency.
However, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made it clear at the scouting combine that the team is still considering its options – including the possibility of using the franchise tag to keep Darnold in Minnesota.
“Every option is afforded to us,” Adofo-Mensah said. “When we did the move originally, we wanted to create optionality. And part of the optionality was believing and betting on a guy who was young, talented – believing in our infrastructure to be able to do the things we can do with the quarterbacks.
“So, we’re now in a position where we have options. And we’ll continue to work those options, figure out the best way for the Vikings to move forward.”
At just 27-years-old, Darnold put together the best season of his career under head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2024.
He completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards, throwing 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Vikings to an impressive 14-3 record.
But the season’s final stretch wasn’t as kind to Darnold. He struggled in back-to-back losses to the Lions in Week 18 and the Rams in the wild-card round – creating a dilemma for the Vikings as they evaluate their next steps.
“I was telling my staff, if I could’ve bought of a brain teaser of an experiment to think through, that would’ve been a pretty tough one – where [you have] a Pro Bowl quarterback, win all those games, and then you lose to two teams twice,” Adofo-Mensah continued.
“And so that was really kind of the ore of our offseason, really thinking through that holistically. Not trying to be overweighted by those eight quarters but not underweighting those last two games.
“Really, he played a lot of good football for us. Year one in the system, so you can expect more later. And so, we’re excited [about] the potential for Sam – whatever that ends up being.”
Despite the disappointing finish, Adofo-Mensah remained optimistic about what Darnold could bring to the team moving forward.
“It’s a tough exercise. I want to make sure that we’re continually saying we’re so proud of what he did for us. We’re so proud of this team. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but a lot of good things happened,” he said.
“We continue to lay the foundation for the team we want to be and we’ll continue to go forward.”
O’Connell echoed that sentiment, emphasizing his appreciation for Darnold’s growth and his role in the team’s success.
“I’ve had great dialogue with Sam from the time the season ended up until very, very recently,” O’Connell said. “I think my relationship with Sam has grown to a point where the respect level is sky high.
“This process is going to play out both short-term and long-term for the Minnesota Vikings. And Sam is in a position where the NFL thinks he can play quarterback at a high level.
“So, that’s a really good thing and I feel very proud to be a part of helping him get to this point. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
For now, the Vikings face a very difficult decision: commit to Darnold for another season or turn the page to McCarthy.
Either way, we won’t have to wait too long to find out what Minnesota’s quarterback room will look like heading into next season.
What are your thoughts on the Darnold situation? … Should the Vikings consider using the franchise tag on him? Or is it time to turn the page to the McCarthy era???
