Vikings don’t sound like a team ready to fall for Sam Darnold’s resurgence

The Minnesota Vikings didn't have much high hopes this season, especially after first-round pick J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury during his lone preseason game. But veteran Sam Darnold, who was supposed to be a bridge quarterback, shined thus far in his lone season with the Vikings. During the team's 5-0 start to the season, Darnold looked like a legitimate NFL MVP candidate. While his production did drop off a bit after going 2-2 in his last four games, Darnold is playing at a high enough level to earn himself a huge contract next offseason.

With Darnold entering free agency, one has to wonder if the Vikings will try to keep Darnold around. Well, one NFL insider suggests that may not be the case.

While discussing where Darnold could end up next season in an ESPN+ article (subscription required), NFL insider Dan Graziano said he doesn't envision the Vikings bringing him back. The reason behind the move is to move forward with McCarthy as the starter.

"I doubt Darnold ends up back in Minnesota, where the Vikings want to have the decks cleared for J.J. McCarthy once their first-round pick is healthy again," writes Graziano. "Never say never, of course, and if McCarthy's recovery from his knee injury is delayed, who knows? But my guess is someone will want to pay Darnold more than the Vikings, given McCarthy's status as their future starter."

NFL insider doubts Vikings bring back Sam Darnold next season

ESPN ranks Darnold as the top quarterback available and the eighth overall free agent for the 2025 league year. The quarterback market, particularly in free agency, is rather weak, so Darnold has a feasible shot at cashing in in a huge way for a team needing a starting signal-caller.

While Graziano's colleague Jeremy Fowler wouldn't take Darnold returning completely off the table, the McCarthy factor does kick in. Graziano says that doing the same thing next year with McCarthy and Darnold could do the former Michigan quarterback "more harm than good."

"My understanding is that the Vikings were planning to open the 2024 season with Darnold as the starter even if McCarthy were healthy, but that they expected to transition to McCarthy as the season went along," writes Graziano. "The injury is a developmental setback, but having been in the building for a year means McCarthy will be further ahead in August 2025 than he was in August 2024. Bringing back Darnold and rerunning the original 2024 plan could do more harm than good to McCarthy's development at that point."

The Vikings moved on from Kirk Cousins this past offseason and it was the worst-kept secret that they were trying to land a quarterback in the NFL Draft. With Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Michael Penix Jr. flying off the board, the Vikings traded with the New York Jets for the No. 10 overall pick to select McCarthy in exchange for the No. 11 pick, and their fourth- and fifth-round picks. McCarthy may not have shown much in college in terms of passing, but he did help lead Michigan to a national championship.

The plan was to send Darnold to the bench at some point for McCarthy had he not suffered a knee injury. But this season, Darold has thrown for 2,141 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 68.6 percent of his passes through nine games.

Darnold may very well be a one-and-done quarterback for the Vikings, but under much different circumstances. In this case, Darnold may leave, like Cousins, for the highest bidder in free agency. From there, it will be McCarthy's time to lead the Vikings.