The Tag Darnold drums are beating louder.
I think RS might be the last person I take QB advice from lol...
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The Minnesota Vikings will face a major decision this offseason when it comes to Sam Darnold and the franchise's future at the quarterback position.
Darnold is coming off a 347-yard, 5-touchdown performance against the Atlanta Falcons, which arguably has elevated him back into the thick of the NFL MVP conversation.
The QB now has 3,299 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season, while the Vikings are 11-2 and tied for second place in the NFC just one game behind the NFC North Division-leading Detroit Lions.
But Minnesota also drafted rookie J.J. McCarthy with the 10th-overall pick in April and signed New York Giants cast off Daniel Jones to a contract through the end of this year -- both of which provide existential threats to Darnold's future with the team.
The biggest obstacle, though, is likely still going to be Darnold's market value when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in March of next year. The Vikings inked Darnold to a one-year contract worth $10 million, though some projections have the quarterback commanding between $30-$40 million annually as the top free agent in a weak class.
Asking the Vikings to spend $40 million for one more season of Darnold is one thing, but committing that much over three or four consecutive years is another given that the QB has only really performed like that type of player this season under head coach Kevin O'Connell.
But then there is the franchise tag.
That term is a dirty one to professional footballers, as it is almost exclusively used on elite-level talents who are on the cusp of signing the biggest contracts of their careers. And while most teams employ the tag to rookies coming off of their fourth or fifth years in the league, it can also be used to keep a late-blooming talent like Darnold tethered to a team for an extra season against his will.
Spotrac projects that Darnold will sign a four-year contract worth approximately $34.4 million annually, or roughly $137.5 million over the life of the deal. The franchise tag would tip the scales of a one-year deal for Darnold from the Vikings to over $40 million.
While pricey, it would allow Minnesota to keep Darnold in-house until the franchise gets a better sense of the player it has in McCarthy. Come 2026, the team could either sign Darnold, currently 27 years old, to a long-term deal or cut him loose and then transition to McCarthy as the starter, using the extra money to improve the roster in other areas.
https://athlonsports.com/nfl/minnesota-v...carthy-nfl
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Colin, that second surgery was an injection smh....
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Amid Darnold heater, signs still point to J.J. McCarthy as Vikings' 2025 QB
Sam Darnold has been playing like an MVP candidate lately. He was just named the NFC offensive player of the week after shredding the Falcons' defense for 347 yards and five touchdowns on Sunday. His performance is a big reason why the 11-2 Vikings look like legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
That's led to renewed discussion this week about Minnesota's 2025 quarterback situation. How could they just let Darnold, who is set to hit free agency, walk out the door in the spring?
While it's become a more fascinating decision than anyone may have anticipated, all of the signs still point to Darnold leaving and J.J. McCarthy being the Vikings' QB next year. Why? Because that's been the plan all along — and because GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah doesn't seem like the kind of person who's going to stray from a plan that's been carefully set in place, no matter how loud the outside noise gets.
The Vikings signed Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal in March to be their bridge to a rookie. Then they traded up one spot to select McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in April — and it's important to note that they loved how he progressed from when he arrived in the spring to when a mid-August torn meniscus ended his season before it began. Based on what he saw from McCarthy in training camp and an impressive preseason opener, Kevin O'Connell declared that the Vikings have "our young franchise quarterback in the building."
While they've kept McCarthy engaged and continued his development behind the scenes, this season has been all about Darnold. He's been brilliant, thriving in O'Connell's offense and posting a passer rating of at least 100 in 11 of the first 13 games this season. And yet, it remains likely that this will be his only season in a Vikings uniform.
The plan has always been for the Vikings to help Darnold play as well as possible, then thank him for his efforts and wish him the best of luck on a multi-year deal with another team. He's played so well that his price tag might be climbing towards $35-40 million per season. Minnesota probably isn't going to be the team to pay that bill.
"I think we all know that Sam is gonna be a sought-after type of guy, from wherever that may be," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said on Tuesday. "Whatever his future ends up being, I know all of us in this building are going to be happy for him, no matter where that ends up being."
As good as Darnold has been, it would be quite surprising if the Vikings scrap their plan and commit to him long-term. They've been operating, from a roster-building perspective, within the idea that they're going to have the advantage of a rookie quarterback contract moving forward.
McCarthy having cap hits between $5-7 million over the next three years gives the Vikings all kinds of flexibility. They've got Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw, Jonathan Greenard, Brian O'Neill, and T.J. Hockenson signed to expensive multi-year deals. They have an estimated $63 million in effective cap space next season, which will be needed to address weaknesses in free agency and potentially re-sign players like Byron Murphy Jr., Camryn Bynum, and Dalton Risner, among other in-house UFAs.
Bringing back Darnold on the one-year franchise tag (which would cost around $41 million) is an interesting idea in theory, but that would leave the Vikings with minimal cap space for other moves. Signing him to a multi-year deal like the one he'll command on the open market would block McCarthy from getting a chance to prove himself as their starter while he's still on the cheap contract.
Ultimately, the main argument for sticking to the plan comes down to O'Connell and the way he's elevated so many different quarterbacks. He helped Matthew Stafford and the Rams win a Super Bowl. He got MVP-caliber play out of Kirk Cousins early last season. He won games with Josh Dobbs and was competitive with Nick Mullens.
This season's work with Darnold, given his prior track record, has been O'Connell's most impressive feat yet. So why can't he help turn McCarthy, a top-10 pick with all kinds of impressive traits, into a quality NFL starter?
Yes, McCarthy remains a relatively unknown quantity who has played in one single preseason game at this level. That's why bringing someone like Daniel Jones back next year makes sense. Abandoning the plan and throwing a big contract at Darnold after one great season just doesn't feel like something the Vikings are realistically going to do to this offseason.
Then again, if they actually go win the Super Bowl, all bets might be off...
Source: SI
(11 hours ago)MaroonBells Wrote: The whole city of New York has to hate the Vikings, after we took the QB the Jets wanted (Cousins, and for less money), then rehabilitating the QB the Jets drafted (and gave up on), making him look like a superstar, and the Jets incompetent. Next step is rebuilding Daniel Jones to make the Giants look foolish...and KOC like a swami.
I agree, having Jones back up our franchise QB in 2025 is about as good as it gets. Dimes has 69 starts and playoff experience under his belt. Not many NFL teams have backups of that caliber.
And Dimes just might be a compelling reason for them NOT TO TRANSITION Darnold...
It's going to be fascinating to watch, never a dull moment with this club.
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