The Minnesota Vikings have a big decision to make at quarterback this offseason.
Sam Darnold is set to hit free agency in March after leading the Minnesota Vikings to a surprising 14–3 record and a playoff berth in 2024. The Vikings could either let him walk or bring him back on a new contract or the franchise tag, which would be a one-year deal worth an estimated $42.4 million.
"I've had great dialogue with Sam from the time the season ended up until very, very recently," coach Kevin O'Connell told the media Tuesday. "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.
"Sam is in a position where the NFL thinks he can play quarterback at a high level. 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."
Darnold, the former No. 3 pick who sputtered out with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, exceeded all expectations in Minnesota. In 17 games, he threw for a career-high 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions—adding up to a 102.5 passer rating. Darnold finished 10th in NFL MVP voting and third in Comeback Player of the Year behind Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins.
However, Darnold's stock took a big hit late in the year when he struggled greatly in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions in a matchup to decide the NFC's No. 1 seed, completing just 18-of-41 pass attempts and failing to get the Vikings into the end zone. One week later, he had another off night in the Vikings' 27–9 wild-card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams, committing two turnovers and taking nine sacks.
While saying all options for the quarterback are still on the table, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah explained the team's thought process when it comes to weighing Darnold's late-season struggles against his Pro Bowl performance the rest of the year.
"It's tough," Adofo-Mesah said Tuesday in Indianapolis. "I was telling my staff—if I could've thought of a brain teaser, an experiment to think through, that would've been a pretty tough one. A Pro Bowl quarterback, won all those games, and then you lose to two teams twice. That was really the core of our offseason, thinking through that holistically—not trying to be overweighted by those eight quarters, but not underweighting those last two games."
If the Vikings move on from Darnold, 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy would likely be crowned the starter under center. McCarthy, a national champion at Michigan, missed the entire 2024 campaign due to two knee surgeries.
The Vikings have until the NFL's deadline on March 4 to make a decision about Darnold's potential franchise tag. If they don't tag him, Darnold will officially hit the open market when free agency begins March 12.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin O'Connell, Vikings GM Provide Latest Sam Darnold Update As Big Decision Looms.