The Senior Bowl made the Vikings' Sam Darnold decision even more painfully obvious

Based on how most of the 2024 NFL season went for the Minnesota Vikings, there was reason to believe that they'd enter the offseason with a massive quarterback controversy on their hands. On one hand, the Vikings had Sam Darnold, a quarterback who proved to fit in perfectly with the team but was going to have to be paid like an elite quarterback despite just one strong season on his resume. On the other hand, the Vikings had J.J. McCarthy, a player who missed his entire rookie year due to injury, but impressed the team enough at Michigan to be taken early in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

With how the season ended, though, it felt as if Darnold's play made the decision for Minnesota. Not only did he struggle mightily in their final regular season game, costing them the NFC's No. 1 seed, but he appeared overmatched again in the Wild Card Round, falling in Minnesota's lone postseason contest.

With how poorly Darnold performed in the two biggest games of the year, it felt likely that the Vikings were going to let him walk as a free agent and roll with McCarthy under center in 2025 and beyond. The Senior Bowl only made that stance clearer.

Lack of QB upside in Senior Bowl makes Vikings Sam Darnold decision that much more obvious

Jeff Howe's most recent piece for The Athletic ($) sums it up best:

"Over the past month, numerous front office sources echoed a common refrain to The Athletic: They would not rank any of the draft prospects ahead of the six quarterbacks who were selected in the first round last year."

Last offseason, six quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Had the likes of Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders been in that draft, they would've ranked below all six of them. That isn't exactly a glowing recommendation of the best quarterbacks that the 2025 NFL Draft has to offer. And that was only reinforced at the Senior Bowl, where quarterbacks like Jalen Milroe, Dillon Gabriel and Jaxson Dart failed to take advantage of their opportunities.

Considering how underwhelming the quarterback class is, there's reason to believe that at least one team will be desperate enough to overpay a more proven. Darnold headlines this offseason's free agency class. Whether that team is the New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, or even the Tennessee Titans remains to be seen, but Darnold should have an even bigger market if the draft prospects continue to underwhelm.

The Vikings might consider bringing Darnold back if he doesn't get a truly absurd contract, but if the underwhelming options in the draft shine a brighter light on the 27-year-old, there's even less of a chance that the Vikings re-sign him.