Is Franchise Tag an option for Darnold?

[StickierBuns]

For an organization that's spent the last few offseasons cutting cap for this offseason and building the team around a rookie QB contract, eating 41 million of it to bring back Darnold on a one year deal would be a tough pill to swallow.

For sure. They have a roster to bolster. Sam was and is a bridge QB. But man did he surpass expectations....which has been fun.

[BStads]

Nick Wright believes the Vikings should Franchise Tag and trade. Estimated a 2nd Round pick returned.

[purplefaithful]

Nick Wright believes the Vikings should Franchise Tag and trade. Estimated a 2nd Round pick returned.

I dont know all the cap gyrations that might cause? 

But yah, trying to get some compensation for Darnold from somewhere is a worthy endeavor. Especially with so few picks in 25.

[JimmyinSD]

Matty, two weeks ago I would have agreed with this.  But after this demonstration vs. Cousins and ATL, I'm now hesitant.   Darnold shook that rough patch in the middle of the schedule.  I think we can all prognosticate til the cows come home, but this storyline changes by the week.  For instance, what happens if we go 0-5 the rest of the way?   What happens if we go 5-0 or 4-1 the rest of the way and deep into the playoffs?  Or even make it to the big game?  If the latter were to happen and we were riding on Darnold's tailcoats the way there, I don't see them letting him just walk...plus, he knows that with this supporting cast and with this coaching staff, it is the best place for him to be.

For example...you saw how at the end of Sunday's game how Darnold was actually smiling and showed emotion?  He's been pretty stone-faced all season, even as the wins were stacking up.  I think his post-game interview last week after beating the Cardinals was telling, with his commenting something to the effect of "there's no place I'd rather be".

Honestly, I think we have to wait until the rest of the season to make an intelligent prediction.  I just think this has to play out a bit more.

I find your premise preposterous... since there are only 4 games to go 

[JimmyinSD]

I think his last game this year....whenever that happens, will have a lot to do with how they handle him. I think they likely want to move on with JJM, but if SD keeps playing like he has the last few weeks, and doesnt show a return to norm, they will likely find a way to keep him in purple for at least 1 more year, and I am ok with that as long as they get him at a team friendly deal and terms.

[medaille]

We'll see how it plays out, but I don't think they'll franchise him. I think they have a general agreement that this year is about maximizing his value on the free agent market while being a bridge QB for us. I don't think they'll reneg on that agreement, by franchising him and stealing his opportunity to get his big contract. Maybe I'm misreading the situation though.

[purplefaithful]

Sounds like "Thx" and "Good Luck" to me...
=============================================

McConnell said Monday he’d “envisioned a moment like that” in reference to the eruption of cheers Darnold received as he was shown on the big screen in U.S. Bank Stadium as the clock ticked down on a 42-21 victory.

The looming reality, though, is that Darnold, who becomes a free agent at season’s end, might not be wearing purple next year. He stamped his résumé for other teams with his 347-yard, five-touchdown performance.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips' phrasing Tuesday talking about Darnold’s value alluded to the open-endedness of Darnold’s future.

"We all know that Sam is gonna be a sought-after type of guy from wherever that may be," Phillips said. “Whatever his future ends up being, I know all of us in this building are gonna be happy for him, no matter where that ends up being. I don’t think he has to worry about that anymore.

“The worry might’ve been, okay, this might be my opportunity to play. He’s past all that. He’s proven the doubters, and he’s proven that he can play in this league.”

The Vikings didn’t pay Kirk Cousins, who they beat Sunday, the big bucks last year knowing they planned to draft a quarterback.

With high hopes for first round pick J.J. McCarthy to recover from knee surgery and possibly step in next season, it might not make financial sense for the Vikings to pay Darnold — unless he leads a Super Bowl run in the next two months.

There’s a walking of the line between keeping things in-the-moment and acknowledging the doors Darnold (on a one-year, $10 million deal) is opening for his future.

“If every single day I’m telling them, ‘Hey, let’s just focus on today, don’t worry about it,’ then it becomes maybe I should focus on more than just today,” O’Connell said Monday.

“That’s how I would handle it if I was him. I just can’t say enough about how Sam’s handled himself, thinking back to the different kind of moments throughout his journey this year and how he’s maximized every single up coming out of what’s been a very successful season, chasing improvement.”

Startribune

[medaille]

Matty, two weeks ago I would have agreed with this.  But after this demonstration vs. Cousins and ATL, I'm now hesitant.   Darnold shook that rough patch in the middle of the schedule.  I think we can all prognosticate til the cows come home, but this storyline changes by the week.  For instance, what happens if we go 0-5 the rest of the way?   What happens if we go 5-0 or 4-1 the rest of the way and deep into the playoffs?  Or even make it to the big game?  If the latter were to happen and we were riding on Darnold's tailcoats the way there, I don't see them letting him just walk...plus, he knows that with this supporting cast and with this coaching staff, it is the best place for him to be.

For example...you saw how at the end of Sunday's game how Darnold was actually smiling and showed emotion?  He's been pretty stone-faced all season, even as the wins were stacking up.  I think his post-game interview last week after beating the Cardinals was telling, with his commenting something to the effect of "there's no place I'd rather be".

Honestly, I think we have to wait until the rest of the season to make an intelligent prediction.  I just think this has to play out a bit more.

I think we’re at a point where we’re buying high rather than buying low.  The last 6 quarters have been very good performances, against not great teams and all of our recent memory is against the cream puff portion of our schedule.  I don’t think it’s really reflective of his overall value during the season as most of the season I would define as pretty good performance with 2-3 drive killing turnovers a game.  We’re not in the top 10 in terms of yards/game.  We’re barely in the top 10 (9th) in terms of points per game.  Even in terms of pure passing, the Vikings are only 8th in terms of passing yards per game.

If our defense wasn’t 2nd the league in turnovers, we’d probably be having a much different conversation regarding Darnold right now.  If we replay this season, but pretend that we lose Flores (which is possible this offseason), and our defense doesn’t have that Flores touch, and maybe we have a few more injuries and Darnold has the same stats, but the team record is closer to 8-5 and we’re fighting it out with Washington for the last wildcard spot.

3 of our final 4 games are against playoff teams.  3 of those games are in our division and it’s still a very real chance that we’re 3rd in the North at the end of the season.  Then we go to the playoffs, we’ll have a solid chance there, but we’re playing against playoff caliber teams and only one team doesn’t end their season on a loss.  Not to be pessimistic, because I’m not, but there’s a good chance some of the shine wears off playing that stretch of good teams, and if he continues performing at a high level through that stretch he’ll certainly have earned whatever he’ll end up getting.

I'm also of the mindset that we have to let this play out.  Mostly, we don't need to have him focusing on his contract, while our front office points out all his flaws to try and keep the price low, while we're trying to make a playoff run.

[Mattyman]

Matty, two weeks ago I would have agreed with this.  But after this demonstration vs. Cousins and ATL, I'm now hesitant.   Darnold shook that rough patch in the middle of the schedule.  I think we can all prognosticate til the cows come home, but this storyline changes by the week.  For instance, what happens if we go 0-5 the rest of the way?   What happens if we go 5-0 or 4-1 the rest of the way and deep into the playoffs?  Or even make it to the big game?  If the latter were to happen and we were riding on Darnold's tailcoats the way there, I don't see them letting him just walk...plus, he knows that with this supporting cast and with this coaching staff, it is the best place for him to be.

For example...you saw how at the end of Sunday's game how Darnold was actually smiling and showed emotion?  He's been pretty stone-faced all season, even as the wins were stacking up.  I think his post-game interview last week after beating the Cardinals was telling, with his commenting something to the effect of "there's no place I'd rather be".

Honestly, I think we have to wait until the rest of the season to make an intelligent prediction.  I just think this has to play out a bit more.

I agree with waiting till the end of the season.

 there are 2? qbs in the draft that look like franchise prospect  QB's.

There's maybe 5 NFL teams with openings. 

  IMO  Darnold is  going to be very particular in whom he chooses as  his next employer.  


We'll see?

[StickierBuns]

Sounds like "Thx" and "Good Luck" to me...
=============================================

McConnell said Monday he’d “envisioned a moment like that” in reference to the eruption of cheers Darnold received as he was shown on the big screen in U.S. Bank Stadium as the clock ticked down on a 42-21 victory.

The looming reality, though, is that Darnold, who becomes a free agent at season’s end, might not be wearing purple next year. He stamped his résumé for other teams with his 347-yard, five-touchdown performance.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips' phrasing Tuesday talking about Darnold’s value alluded to the open-endedness of Darnold’s future.

"We all know that Sam is gonna be a sought-after type of guy from wherever that may be," Phillips said. “Whatever his future ends up being, I know all of us in this building are gonna be happy for him, no matter where that ends up being. I don’t think he has to worry about that anymore.

“The worry might’ve been, okay, this might be my opportunity to play. He’s past all that. He’s proven the doubters, and he’s proven that he can play in this league.”

The Vikings didn’t pay Kirk Cousins, who they beat Sunday, the big bucks last year knowing they planned to draft a quarterback.

With high hopes for first round pick J.J. McCarthy to recover from knee surgery and possibly step in next season, it might not make financial sense for the Vikings to pay Darnold — unless he leads a Super Bowl run in the next two months.

There’s a walking of the line between keeping things in-the-moment and acknowledging the doors Darnold (on a one-year, $10 million deal) is opening for his future.

“If every single day I’m telling them, ‘Hey, let’s just focus on today, don’t worry about it,’ then it becomes maybe I should focus on more than just today,” O’Connell said Monday.

“That’s how I would handle it if I was him. I just can’t say enough about how Sam’s handled himself, thinking back to the different kind of moments throughout his journey this year and how he’s maximized every single up coming out of what’s been a very successful season, chasing improvement.”

Startribune

Wes Phillips said the same thing yesterday in his presser, basically saying they wish Darnold the best and they'll always be rooting for him in this building. He's gone. Vikings are going to saddle up with McCarthy in 2025.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootbal...e-can-play