While Sam Darnold put together another performance that’ll firmly place him in the MVP conversation, his future is very much in flux.
Prior to Minnesota’s 42-21 drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons, in which the Vikings quarterback tossed five touchdown passes, that conversation owned ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown. And it especially became a point of contention when ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed that the two sides haven’t had any contract extension talks whatsoever, likely because J.J. McCarthy is waiting in the wings.
“So, Sam Darnold right now is tracking to become a free agent,” said Schefter. “And the only quarterback under contract in Minnesota for 2025 is J.J. McCarthy, who’s coming off the torn [meniscus]. That’s part of the reason you go out and add Daniel Jones on a one-year deal, so you could show him what the organization would be like, what it would be like to play for the Vikings and live in Minnesota.
“Because the chances are, there are going to be teams out there that see Sam Darnold in a Baker Mayfield-type role. They go, and they pay him more than Minnesota is willing or capable of. So, Sam Darnold goes and quarterbacks the New York Jets, the New York Giants — you pick the quarterback-needy team that’s going to pay Sam Darnold.
“It’s not going to be the Minnesota Vikings because they’ve invested in J.J. McCarthy. Unless they can figure out a deal that works for both sides, he, hes out there and sees there’s not as much money as I thought and it makes sense to be back here one more time.”
None of what Schefter was saying sat right with any of Tedy Bruschi, Alex Smith, or Rex Ryan.
But he was merely the messenger.
“Sometimes, you got to recognize the partnership of quarterback and head coach and play-caller,” Bruschi said. “It’s exactly what I recognize here. This is very (Jared) Goff-like to me. When Goff was kicked to the curb in L.A., he went to Detroit, and now, look what he is there. This is the same effect that Sam Darnold has here. I mean, it took me a while to come around, but this guy, big, strong, athletic, does great things for this football team — I love Darnold.”
He’s not the only one.
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Smith. “I think this is a huge mistake from this organization that they don’t make a concerted effort to re-sign him. I agree with you, Tedy; he’s the main reason I think that they’re so legitimate. His growth this year and what he’s proven in clutch situations that he can deliver, he is not limited in any way from a play-caller standpoint. You can do anything and everything with this guy at quarterback.”
Doesn’t Darnold have to know that, too?
“It’s absolutely crazy that they don’t see him as the future,” added Ryan.
Sunday NFL Countdown on Sam Darnold:
“This is very Goff-like to me.” – Tedy Bruschi
“I think this is a huge mistake from [the Vikings] if they don’t make a concerted effort to re-sign him.” – Alex Smith
“It’s absolutely crazy that they don’t see him as the future.” – Rex Ryan pic.twitter.com/bvMtnNUVvi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2024
The Vikings might, but they haven’t got there yet.
Minnesota may be playing a dangerous game. Time will ultimately tell.
[ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.