
This past offseason was filled with difficult decisions for a Minnesota Vikings front office led by GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell. Their Pro Bowl quarterback had suffered an Achilles tear and was headed into his age-36 season.
Minnesota had interest in retaining Cousins, but once the QB received a $180 million contract offer with $100M in guarantees from the Atlanta Falcons, the Vikings were ready to move on. We now know that the Vikings pivoted to signing Sam Darnold to a one-year contract worth $10 million, but it turns out the front office initially had other plans to land a proven star quarterback instead.
Related: See where Sam Darnold lands in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB Rankings
Minnesota Vikings considered Matt Stafford before Sam Darnold

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Minnesota Vikings considered reuniting Matthew Stafford with his former offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell. This would have put Stafford back in the NFC North, where he’d get to face off against his former Detroit Lions team at least twice per season. Yet, the Los Angeles Rams sprung into action, offering their Super Bowl-winning quarterback a restructured contract instead, thus ending any potential pipe dream for the Vikings.
However, it didn’t take long for Sam Darnold to emerge as the Vikings’ “first choice” among free agent quarterbacks once a Stafford trade was off the table.
“Minnesota weighed other options. They had monitored Matthew Stafford’s difficult contract negotiation with the Rams (O’Connell was Stafford’s offensive coordinator during the Super Bowl season in L.A.), but Sam Darnold emerged as their first choice. One day after Cousins left for the Falcons, Minnesota agreed to a one-year deal with Darnold.”
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini on Minnesota Vikings
Pairing an aging Stafford with a rookie quarterback who needed more seasoning seems like an ideal plan for both the short and long term. It’s another indication that the Vikings always had plans of competing for a playoff spot this season while looking to the future to develop their franchise quarterback. Yet, no one could have predicted Darnold to be so effective after previously being labeled as a giant NFL Draft bust.
Ultimately, the Vikings escaped like bandits, holding onto their draft compensation, while signing an above-average quarterback for a fraction of the price, and now they have one of the NFL’s best records to show for it.
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