The Minnesota Vikings are going to have to face the music now. They have less than 18 hours to decide if they want to pay Sam Darnold like a franchise quarterback for one season or let him go in free agency and turn the reins over to Daniel Jones or J.J. McCarthy.
Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET is the deadline for the Vikings to franchise tag Darnold. And doing so would hinder them financially in putting together the rest of the roster. It’s the decision they’ve put off for months.
There’s no wrong decision, it’s about evaluating if they’re truly ready to turn to McCarthy, who’s coming off a knee injury, to keep the success going. After all, Darnold did lead the Vikings to 14 wins and a playoff appearance.
The #Vikings have several key players they want to try to re-sign. A $40M tag would have made that more challenging. https://t.co/0GN0g1IKXP
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 4, 2025
If the Vikings officially turn to McCarthy – or possibly Daniel Jones – they’ll have one of the hardest jobs in continuing to win. If they don’t the Vikings would have wished they coughed up the $40 million to retain Darnold for one more year.
The Vikings know what decision they have to make, they’re just scared it could backfire
Minnesota knows they should bring back Darnold. Letting two bad games in the best season of his career overshadow what he brought this team would be irresponsible. Let’s not forget, quarterbacks are a premium now more than ever.
Turning to a new quarterback that could set you back might not be worth it. Take the $40 million hit for a year and see how Darnold looks in 2025. This is less of a prove-it deal like he had in 2024. More of a deal to delay making a drastic decision at the most important position.
They don’t necessarily need Darnold on a tag to work out a long term deal, which ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported isn’t out of the question. But tagging him would ensure they don’t miss out on him in the open market.
Either way, they’re playing a dangerous game. The quarterback position is way too important for them to play around with. They know deep down Darnold is the best decision. But they’ve alluded to turning to McCarthy.
Why would they back down from that? Did he have a setback or is he not quite where they want him to be and they want another year to rehab him?
They know Darnold is their best chance to win and get back to the playoffs again, they just don’t want to pay up. It’s an expensive decision, but equally important. Turning to McCarthy right now could implode last season’s success and could be the one decision the Vikings regret for a long time.