Pelissero: Most Logical is Darnold Staying in Minn

[purplefaithful]

The Vikings may feel Darnold would be fine if they upgrade the O-line. The problem is, no matter how good your line is you can't constantly hold the ball for 4 seconds. I see Darnold as one of those QB's who is capable of being very good during the regular season but not so much in the playoffs when the competition is greater. Sounds a bit like Cousins!

The only way I see the Vikings signing Darnold is on a short term, team friendly contract as competition in training camp with JJM. That's not likely to happen.

I'd love to get some draft capital for Sam, but don't know the upside/downside/risk yet. I dont think the Vikings do either, not this early on. 

What I dont want to do is handicap the team financially ($15mm wont) and I dont want to deprive them from giving JJM every opportunity to grab the reigns and run with em. 

So I agree with the bolded, give McCarthy the chance to earn it in a QB competition.

[StickierBuns]

Will Ragatz
@WillRagatz
A very Sam Darnold quote on his future, courtesy of SiriusXM NFL Radio:

“Yeah, I've put a little bit of thought into it. I'm not gonna share anything about kind of what I've been thinking or obviously the conversations I've had behind closed doors. But there's obviously a lot that's gotta happen still even after the Super Bowl. So just gonna continue to talk to my agent and figure things out from there.”

[MAD GAINZ]

Darnold will have a market in FA, too many teams with a need at QB and he's the best option in terms of recent production and age.

He's going to get a big enough offer in terms of money and term that the Vikings won't want to match because they want to get JJM on the field sooner rather than later.

I think Sam and his agent know that too. Maybe there is a way for the Vikings to work with him on a tag and trade since they rehabilitated his image and earned him some money. Something like the Vikings would accept fair trade compensation (not hold out for a major deal) and agree to deal him to the team of his choice.

I think that is the more likely option than getting him back on a short term deal.

If the Vikings want a QB to compete with JJ McCarthy, Daniel Jones makes more sense since we can probably get him on a 1-yr deal with assurances he would get a fair shot to compete to be the starter. If we franchise Darnold, you aren't paying him 41 million to be a backup.

[supafreak84]

I just don't think you divert from the original plan, which was to draft a rookie QB to build around and use the savings on a rookie contract and other cap saving moves to attack free agency and upgrade the roster over the next couple seasons. I appreciate what Darnold did, but I don't think you alter the original plan for a guy who completely shit the bed in the two most important games of the year and giving him a contract that would eat up half your cap savings that you could spend at other positions. The tag and trade scenario seems complicated and I don't see that playing out. The most likely scenario IMO, is we just let Darnold walk in free agency and we collect a compensatory
draft pick in 2026. We go into next season with McCarthy the projected starter and probably Daniel Jones as the backup.

[JimmyinSD]

Darnold will have a market in FA, too many teams with a need at QB and he's the best option in terms of recent production and age.

He's going to get a big enough offer in terms of money and term that the Vikings won't want to match because they want to get JJM on the field sooner rather than later.

I think Sam and his agent know that too.  Maybe there is a way for the Vikings to work with him on a tag and trade since they rehabilitated his image and earned him some money.  Something like the Vikings would accept fair trade compensation (not hold out for a major deal) and agree to deal him to the team of his choice.

I think that is the more likely option than getting him back on a short term deal.

If the Vikings want a QB to compete with JJ McCarthy, Daniel Jones makes more sense since we can probably get him on a 1-yr deal with assurances he would get a fair shot to compete to be the starter.  If we franchise Darnold, you aren't paying him 41 million to be a backup.

I dont really understand the bolded part,  unless you are suggesting he would do it as a favor to the franchise,  but why would he not just enter FA,  sign with the team of his choosing, and do so while not costing his future club valuable draft picks?

[medaille]

I think a tag and trade kind of requires all parties to end up happy, or at least partially happy. Whatever team would trade for him is going to need a semi-long term contract to make it make sense. No one is trading much to the Vikings for one year $35M Darnold. Darnold isn't signing with a team he hates. Vikings have to get enough trade value, although of the 3 of them, I think the Vikings care least how much they get, although it has to be at least a 3rd.

I think the only way it really happens is if the Vikings let Darnold go out and find another team, and they probably have to be willing to have him come back under the tag if it all doesn't work out.

[Tyr]

Darnold holding onto the ball for 3+ seconds on every throw is a big problem. He really got exposed against the Lions and Rams with this and while upgrading the interior line would help, you are then talking $40+ million for Darnold plus the cost of upgrading the line. I really think they are better off taking their chances with McCarthy and using the money saved to improve the rest of the roster.

I am somewhat sympathetic to the argument that McCarthy missing his entire rookie year without being able to practice is somewhat of an unprecedented situation. In that case, you could make the argument to franchise Darnold for a year, but honestly, in that situation I would rather take my chances with Jones or another cheaper veteran QB and trust that O'Connell can create a favorable situation for them.

[comet52]

I dont really understand the bolded part,  unless you are suggesting he would do it as a favor to the franchise,  but why would he not just enter FA,  sign with the team of his choosing, and do so while not costing his future club valuable draft picks?

There is a line of thinking that suggests working with the Vikings could benefit him by having the tag applied and putting that 41 million dollar value on him to start negotiations with other teams. Versus just going out to see what the market looks like and finding out it's more like 25-30 million a year.

It really all hinges on him and his agent being willing to try that route and work with the Vikings, to potentially create a win-win for the team (getting some compensation from another team) and Sam (getting max value on what is clearly the biggest chance to get paid he will ever see in his lifetime).

Whether it's actually feasible to make that all work, I have no idea. The more teams that are interested in Sam the more likely it is that it could possibly work. Worst case, they just let him go and get a comp pick back in 2026.

[JimmyinSD]

There is a line of thinking that suggests working with the Vikings could benefit him by having the tag applied and putting that 41 million dollar value on him to start negotiations with other teams.  Versus just going out to see what the market looks like and finding out it's more like 25-30 million a year. 

It really all hinges on him and his agent being willing to try that route and work with the Vikings, to potentially create a win-win for the team (getting some compensation from another team) and Sam (getting max value on what is clearly the biggest chance to get paid he will ever see in his lifetime).

Whether it's actually feasible to make that all work, I have no idea.  The more teams that are interested in Sam the more likely it is that it could possibly work.  Worst case, they just let him go and get a comp pick back in 2026.

If his market is 25-30 million i really dont see any team stepping up and offering draft picks,  plus taking on 10-15 million more on top of that.  The only way I could see this is if some team coveted him so much that they would want a year of exclusive rights to get a deal done that his agent may be resistant to at this time.

[StickierBuns]

So in watching Darnold's demeanor in interviews since the end of the season, he's in a pretty good mood. He had fun at the Pro Bowl. I think he knows he's about to get paid and I don't think he cares that much about leaving Minnesota to get it. I don't blame him at all, its a short window for NFL players to make money. Get the bag. He'll probably sign a 3-year contract with someone for mostly guaranteed money and he's set....not that he isn't now, he's made $65 million to this point. But you get what I'm saying.

Rare is the player that doesn't go for the bag when they are a free agent.