Hi, back in August I asked what would you think the Vikings would do if Darnold played well and got them to the playoffs.
Would they re-sign him and forgo their plan to play J.J. McCarthy? You said that that would be a good circumstance to be in and left it at that.
Well, here we are, and this issue is now at hand. I think the Vikings should let Darnold walk and use the $63 million to get a guard, a defensive tackle and a corner for their money and move on to McCarthy. If they spend $45 million on Darnold they will leave gapping needs left unattended.
What do you think now that you have had a whole season to think about my August question?
I think we can all agree the Vikings are in a great position as the 2024 season winds down. Guaranteed of a playoff berth and having a shot at the No. 1 seed, which would be the first time for the Vikings to secure the NFC’s top spot since 1998, is probably reaching “beyond wildest dreams” status for where most people’s mindset was in August, but this team is legitimately good and has gotten consistently excellent play from Darnold.
Everyone could see the way the locker room relates with him and rallies around him, and that includes McCarthy, who has become one of the best Vikings hype men during his recovery.
I’ve previously covered the options that the Vikings would have with Darnold that include setting a max price for re-signing or allowing him to pursue other options, franchise tag and retain, franchise tag and trade, or adjusting elsewhere on the roster, which could impact the ability to retain some other players.
The deadline for a team to use a franchise tag is March 4, and the window for doing so doesn’t open until Feb. 18. Free agency and the league’s new year opens March 12, so there’s plenty of time for the Vikings to enjoy the playoffs before having to make any decisions and for Darnold to continue to be where his feet are without entertaining any notions. He’s openly said how much he’s enjoying being a Viking and could factor his enjoyment of this environment in his decisions.
I’m not quite sure where the $ amounts mentioned are coming from, but I do know the Vikings have been skilled at navigating cap hits. O’Connell was asked about the future of the position on Wednesday and said the following:
“It would go totally against how I’ve coached the team to be spending any time, for me right now, focusing on the answers to those questions, because I know that the things that mean a lot to me are getting Sam [Darnold] ready to play, getting our team ready to play each and every week, whatever it’s gonna take to win a game,” O’Connell said. “As far as the quarterbacks room, since the addition of Daniel [Jones] with Brett [Rypien] and Nick [Mullens], we’re coaching those guys up, and then you’ve got J.J. [McCarthy], who’s doing a great job and has really put a stamp on where he’s at in his rehab process, and now is so visible and a part of the meeting process and digesting game plans. So, we’ve got really five guys right now in our building that are constantly improving and getting better and just being comfortable as quarterbacks for the Minnesota Vikings, and I wish that number could be more than that.”
My sincere advice is to focus on enjoying the present, which is one of the most significant regular-season games in NFL history and what the Vikings hope is the first of three “shirt-and-hat” games in a six-week span.