Will the real Sam Darnold please stand up?
For the first 16 games of the regular season, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback played like an MVP candidate, throwing 35 touchdown passes while leading the team to a 14-2 record. Darnold’s teammates even hoisted him onto their shoulders in the locker room after he threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 27-25 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 17.
Everything seemed right in the Vikings’ world then, but it immediately came crashing down.
In the last game of the regular season to determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Darnold and the Vikings were pummeled by NFC North rival Detroit Lions, 31-9. Darnold completed under 44% of his passes, going 18-for-41 for 166 yards and no touchdowns. It got worse a week later as Minnesota was decimated by the Los Angeles Rams, 27-9, in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. Darnold was sacked nine times, going 25-for-40 for 245 passing yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
This dramatic late-season collapse has raised serious questions about Darnold’s future. After transforming from a career backup into a potential franchise quarterback through the first four months of the season, his final two weeks have muddied his free-agent outlook. Once staring down a major payday comparable to top-tier NFL quarterbacks, it’s now up in the air where he will land and what kind of contract he will get after signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Vikings for 2024.
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NFL insider shares where he believes Sam Darnold will land in 2025

During an appearance on KFAN, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero stated he believes Darnold will end up back in Minnesota for the 2025 season, despite the disappointing finish.
“I would still say, the smart money would be on Sam Darnold being back in Minnesota,” said Pelissero. “And if anything, what happened in those last two games might make it simpler to get him back.”
"I would still say, the smart money would be Sam Darnold being back in Minnesota."
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) January 16, 2025
–@TomPelissero on the outlook for the @Vikings at QBpic.twitter.com/gF6kHQZzFA
The situation is complicated by the Vikings’ investment in JJ McCarthy. Darnold was originally signed to back up McCarthy, the team’s 2024 first-round pick from Michigan, who suffered a torn meniscus during preseason training camp. McCarthy’s rehabilitation is progressing well, but he isn’t expected to be fully cleared for football activities until late spring 2025.
This timeline, combined with Darnold’s overall successful season, has the Vikings considering all options. Pelissero noted the team might use the franchise tag, which would cost approximately $41 million for the 2025 season, to keep Darnold around while they evaluate their long-term quarterback situation.
“The question is just going to be—and what they’re going to have to figure out—what is the market for Sam Darnold?” Pelissero explained. “If you would’ve said a couple of weeks ago that maybe somebody does go whole-hog, all-in and give him a $50 million-plus contract, not even necessarily because he’s on the same level as those guys, it’s just how free agency works. In that case, you’ll be thinking, if we can’t get a deal done, we may as well tag him, buy time for JJ McCarthy to get fully healthy.”
Pelissero emphasized that trading McCarthy isn’t being considered.
“The most logical outcome for all parties has always been Sam Darnold coming back,” he continued. “The question is, can you get a deal done? And if you can’t, do you use the tag, or do you say, ‘Go ahead and see what your market is,’ and we’re probably going to get this deal done because this is the best place for you.”
Darnold’s journey to this point has been remarkable. Selected third overall by the New York Jets in 2018, he struggled through his first five NFL seasons with the Jets, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers. In Minnesota, however, he found his footing under head coach Kevin O’Connell’s quarterback-friendly system, posting career highs in completion percentage (66.8%), touchdown passes (35), and passer rating (103.5) before his late-season stumble. This resurgence, despite the poor finish, makes the Vikings’ decision about his future all the more intriguing.
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