The Minnesota Vikings signed Sam Darnold in preparation for the possibility that rookie J.J. McCarthy either wouldn’t be ready to start Week 1 and/or would end up injured. Now that the latter has happened, the team is in position to consider another experienced veteran to bolster its QB ranks.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Wednesday, August 28, floated Minnesota as a landing spot for former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
“Ryan Tannehill, who has been available all offseason, remains the top option for teams in need of an experienced spot starter or bridge option. With 151 starts on his resumé, the 36-year-old is a seasoned vet who may be more interested in the right opportunity than a hefty payday,” Knox wrote. “The Minnesota Vikings might look to add another signal-caller since rookie J.J. McCarthy has already been ruled out for the season.”
Tannehill is a long-time starter in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and the Titans, and is coming off of a four-year $118 million contract in Tennessee. However, after earning nearly $200 million in his playing career to this point, the one-time Pro Bowler has been public about finding a situation that suits his family best rather than the one that pays him the most.
“I’m not ruling anything out, but it’s gonna have to be the right situation for me and my family,” Tannehill said during a July 26 appearance on the “Scoop City” podcast with Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel.
Tannehill’s current annual market value is $7.7 million, which would be more than $2 million less than what the Vikings are paying Darnold for his services in 2024 ($10 million).
Vikings Providing Sam Darnold Best Chance to Succeed of NFL Career
Vikings fans have reason to be cautiously optimistic about Darnold, who is just 27 years old and was the No. 3 overall pick of the New York Jets in 2018.
By any measure, Darnold has been a bust across his six-year professional career, but that isn’t entirely his fault. The Jets were among the worst teams in the league during Darnold’s three seasons there, winning just 13 games over that span.
He then joined the Carolina Panthers for two seasons, where he went 8-9 as the starter despite a poor roster surrounding him. Darnold finally stepped into a good situation as the backup for the San Francisco 49ers last season and played well in limited opportunities behind Brock Purdy.
Darnold’s physical skills have never been in question, and he has a chance to shine with Justin Jefferson leading a group of quality pass-catchers than includes second-year wideout Jordan Addison and two-time Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. However, Addison is battling an ankle sprain and is questionable for the start of the year, while Hockenson is likely to miss several contests as he rehabs from a knee injury that he suffered late last season.
Ryan Tannehill Has Been Better QB Than Sam Darnold at NFL Level
Darnold is younger than Tannehill by almost a decade, but their levels of success skew equally as wide in the latter’s favor.
Tannehill owns a record of 81-70 as an NFL starter. He has thrown for nearly 35,000 yards as well as 216 TDs and 115 INTs, per Pro Football Reference. He also led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game in 2019.
By comparison, Darnold is 21-35 as a starter. He has tallied just over 12,000 yards passing with 63 TDs and 56 INTs and has appeared in just one playoff game, during which he threw zero passes.
If the Vikings are serious about contending during a transition year that has already proven tumultuous, adding a player Tannehill to the QB room who can effectively replace Darnold in the case of injury and/or struggles should be a serious consideration.
Minnesota has both Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on the roster after releasing Matt Corral earlier this week. However, Mullens and Hall were 1-4 combined starting for the Vikings last season.
