The Minnesota Vikings have many difficult questions to answer this offseason before they prepare for the 2025 season. One that no one wants to think about is, “Will Sam Darnold be back in Minnesota for 2025?”
The idea of losing Sam Darnold is potentially a much easier pill to swallow after recent weeks, but should it be?
Sam Darnold was drafted third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, and he was expected to save the franchise. While that didn’t pan out, he was able to salvage the Vikings season and lead them to a 14-3 season while earning a Pro Bowl bid.
This brings us to the question: What will his next contract be, and should the Vikings pay it?
Spotrac speculates that his contract value on the open market would be around $40.6 million. That is a sharp increase from the $10 million he signed for last offseason with the Vikings. He played at an MVP level and led the team to 14 wins, as we mentioned. However, after seeing how he played those last two weeks, not to mention that J.J. McCarthy will be back this offseason, there is no way they can pay for this.
The team could franchise tag Darnold for a projected $41.3 million, while only being tied to that amount for one more year. It could serve as a security blanket option for the team as they ease McCarthy back into the mix.
The Vikings are projected to have just $77 million dollars, before any adjustments, in their salary cap this offseason. Darnold taking up a good chunk of that money when the team has so many other free agents may not be wise spending.
In my opinion, the Vikings got what they needed out of Darnold and have to be all in on McCarthy. Having $77 million to spend to build the defense up better while suring up the middle of the offensive line seems wiser in the grand scheme of things.
