Sam Darnold Weighing Offer from Vikings, Broncos

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Sam Darnold
Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Update: The Minnesota Vikings are signing Sam Darnold — Read More

The Minnesota Vikings lost out on the bidding war for Kirk Cousins this afternoon, when his agent Mike McCartney announced he was signing a 4-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. It’s the end of quite the QB saga in the Twin Cities, but it’s time to move on.

Minnesota Vikings to pursue Sam Darnold

And according to Dianna Russini (The Athletic), general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s new plan A at QB, prior to the draft, is former New York Jets No. 1 overall pick, Sam Darnold. The 26-year old most recently played for the San Francisco 49ers and probably holds the highest upside of remaining free agent QBs on the market.

A few hours after Russini tweeted her steam, Ben Volin (Boston Globe) reported that Darnold is weighing an offer from the Vikings, but that he also has an offer from the Denver Broncos. If Minnesota swings and misses on Darnold, their viable free agent QB options will be running dangerously low.

Darnold was drafted in 2018 and his future was still undetermined after two seasons (5,889 YDS, 36 TD, 28 INT) until he completely fell off the QB cliff during the pandemic 2020 season, tossing for just 2,200 yards, 9 TD and 11 INT in 12 starts.

He was traded to Carolina following that final disaster season with the Jets, where he continued to struggle mightily, throwing for just over 2,500 yards, 9 TD and 13 INT in 11 starts. He spent one more year in Carolina but only got six starts during the 2022 season.

Related: Vikings Signing Former Texans EDGE Jonathan Greenard to $76 Million Contract

Sam started just one game for the 49ers in 2024 and looked pretty good, tossing for 297 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a throwaway week 16 contest vs the LA Rams.

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