This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Charles Curtis.
Yes, I’ve watched Sam Darnold wilt the last two weeks like you have. And yes, I’m in the boat of “I’m not shelling out $200 million or something for Sam Darnold” (hear that, New York Giants? Thanks).
But I do believe some team is going to pay him.
Our Cory Woodroof listed the five possible destinations if he doesn’t stay in Minnesota — if the Vikings are smart, they’ll let him walk and play J.J. McCarthy after drafting him. You can build a great NFL team on a rookie QB contract! — and someone’s going to shell out the money even after the last couple of weeks.
Why? Because it’s the NFL, that’s why.
There’s a quarterback talent issue, in case you haven’t noticed. Only a few teams have truly elite QBs (Bills, Ravens, Chiefs come to mind). The next tier has serviceable names who could win you a playoff game or two. And then? Yikes.
It’s why NFL teams reach for quarterbacks with question marks at the NFL Draft. Should Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders be top-two picks? Maybe not. But because of the desperation at the position to find THE guy, franchises will reach.
And the same will happen here. Some team will overpay for Darnold, who thrived in Kevin O’Connell’s scheme this year, and while it was cool to see the former No. 3 overall pick in 2018 thriving, who knows what will happen in a different environment?
He’s going to get paid. It’s inevitable.
What’s Deion Sanders’ Cowboys endgame?
Ah, we’ve got Deion Sanders playing games again. Back in 2023, Mike Sykes wrote “Nobody should believe Deion Sanders when he says he won’t leave Colorado for the NFL.”
And here we are with rumors that he could be a leading candidate to coach the Dallas Cowboys.
The current Colorado head coach didn’t stay quiet about all that talk, saying this:
“I love [Cowboys owner Jerry Jones] and believe in Jerry,” Sanders told ESPN on Monday night during the Vikings-Rams playoff game, per Adam Schefter. “After you hang up, and process it, and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body and the community.”
That’s not a 100 percent flat-out “NO.” So … is Sanders signaling that he’d maybe leave? Is he trying to get more out of Colorado? I’m wondering.
Quick hits: Annoyed Bill Belichick … Ovi is getting close to the Great One … and more.
— Bill Belichick was so annoyed at that Matthew Stafford fumble that wasn’t.
— How far away is Alex Ovechkin from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record? Check out our handy tracker.
— Here are five sports team owners who should buy TikTok.
