It seemed likely that the Minnesota Vikings would bring quarterback Sam Darnold back for at least the 2025 season before he ended the 2024 campaign with a forgettable Week 18 performance and with a woeful outing in Minnesota’s 27-9 wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams this past Monday night.
Numerous analysts and fans have since predicted that the Vikings will let Darnold reach free agency in March and then turn to 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season due to the full meniscus repair he needed in August. During a Thursday appearance on KFAN FM 100.3 out of Minneapolis, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero indicated the Vikings may not be done with Darnold quite yet.
“The smart money would be on Sam Darnold being back in Minnesota,” Pelissero explained, as shared by
Tom Dierberger of Sports Illustrated. “And if anything, what happened in those last two games might make it simpler to get him back.”
It’s understandable Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell
would want to hold onto Darnold. ESPN stats show that Darnold ended this past regular season ranked fifth in the NFL with 35 passing touchdowns, fifth with 4,319 passing yards and sixth among qualified players with a 102.5 passer rating.
However, he then passed for just 166 yards with no touchdowns in a Week 18 31-9 loss at the Detroit Lions that cost Minnesota the division title and the No. 1 seed in the postseason tournament. Darnold then lost a playoff-record 82 yards on nine sacks in the defeat against the Rams.
O’Connell told reporters on Thursday he is “very excited about where” McCarthy is in his recovery. Nevertheless, Pelissero thinks that “the most logical outcome for all parties has always been Sam Darnold is coming back” for another year. Minnesota can afford to retain Darnold’s rights for 2025 via the franchise tag if the two parties can’t come to terms on a new contract.
“The question is can he get a deal done? And if you can’t, do you use the tag? Or do you say, ‘Go ahead and see what your market is, we’re probably going to get this deal done because this is the best place for you,'” Pelissero added during the segment.
O’Connell and Co. don’t need to rush McCarthy into action this coming September. Some may even argue the 21-year-old developing as a healthy backup for a season may be what’s best for everyone involved.
With that said, it remains to be seen if Darnold damaged his reputation in the Minnesota locker room via his last eight quarters of play.
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