The Minnesota Vikings were searching for a starting quarterback in the NFL draft, but they found one instead in the relative afterthought that was Sam Darnold’s one-year, $10 million deal out of free agency.
Minnesota is 4-0 with Darnold under center this season and will be one of only two or three remaining undefeated teams once the dust settles on Week 4. If the Seattle Seahawks, underdogs to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, wind up losing then the Vikings’ only company in the ranks of the unbeaten will be the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
That is utterly wild considering Minnesota has been underdogs in its last three games, all of which came against teams that didn’t just make the playoffs after last season, but won at least one postseason game (49ers, Texans, Packers).
As far as Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated is concerned, the Vikings should have now seen all they need to see to go ahead and sign the 27-year-old Darnold to a contract extension — even despite the fact that injured rookie J.J. McCarthy is waiting in the wings.
“In short, we’ve seen enough to warrant the risk that Darnold would not be worth the return if the Vikings were to offer him a deal that would make him both a perpetual mentor and competitor to the recovering J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings’ rookie and No. 10 pick who tore his meniscus this preseason,” Orr wrote on Sunday, September 29. “Darnold will have suitors this offseason. Teams are rightfully attracted to the idea that talented passers have a second life outside of the hellscapes from which they were drafted.”
Vikings Can Pay Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy Without Sacrificing Value in QB Room
What a new contract would look like for Darnold is important to consider, as Minnesota has at least $22 million wrapped up in McCarthy for this season and the next three combined, with a fifth-year team option as a first-round pick.
But Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott set the market for signal-callers across league history ahead of Week 1 by signing a deal valued at $60 million annually over four years. McCarthy’s annual average salary is just $5.5 million.
If, moving forward, the Vikings believe they can expect even 75-80% of the MVP-caliber performance they’ve gotten from Darnold through his first four games in purple and gold, then a new three-year contract at half of Prescott’s annual price reads like a bargain.
That would still mean that Minnesota was spending approximately $35 million total annually for one of the best situated quarterback rooms in the league, including a capable starter now and a young backup with a chance to be the future of the franchise.
Sam Darnold Has Been Elite NFL QB Through First Month of Season
Orr noted that Baker Mayfield is earning $100 million over the next three years ($33.3 million annually), adding that deal looks amazing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a value perspective when compared to the truckloads of cash the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants doled out to the likes of Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones, respectively.
The Bucs guaranteed only half of Mayfield’s salary, which allows for real flexibility after just two seasons in Tampa Bay. Minnesota can likely do something similar with Darnold and set McCarthy on the Jordan Love track, who spent three years learning behind Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay before making the leap to starter in 2023, and then arguably a top-10 NFL quarterback shortly thereafter.
Darnold has tallied 932 passing yards, 11 TDs and 3 INTs and completed nearly 69% of his passes through four weeks. Some of his harshest doubters have quieted from full-throated critics to mild skeptics, or even passive buyers on Darnold in the long-term.
The sooner Minnesota extends Darnold, if they plan to do so or see a future where it’s a viable decision, the more money the team will save.
The Vikings may want to give it a few more games to collect more information on Darnold’s ability to stay healthy, deal with adversity and play from a deficit in a pressure situation. But if the franchise does decide to extend its current starter, there is a reasonable chance it will happen before the end of the season.
