The Minnesota Vikings apparently not plan to keep Sam Darnold on the franchise day in the NFL. It is not yet completely excluded to remain the quarterback.
The Vikings should still continue to be interested in keeping Darnold beyond the past season. Adam Schefter from “ESPN” reported on Monday.
Darnold only joined the Vikings in the 2024 season and was actually only intended as a placeholder by Rookie JJ McCarthy before he would have been ready to take over as a starter for Minnesota. But he seriously injured the knee in the season preparation and then missed his entire first season in the league.
Darnold took over and finally put on the best season of his career and led the Vikings to a 14-3 record and Wild Card in the playoffs. However, the Vikings ultimately lost their last two games of the season against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams (Wild Card Playoffs) and came together in total to a point difference of 18:58 in both games.
Darnold: Last two games leave doubt
Darnold’s achievements in the two games were the worst of his otherwise strong season and called doubters. Darnold had previously been viewed as an undisputed best free agent quarters back. Now it can be heard that teams have concerns about which version of Darnold would ultimately get them. This means that his market in the Free Agency, which will start next week, may not be as robust as expected.
And that could make it possible for the Vikings to convince Darnold from staying. He would probably only be the placeholder for McCarthy, who will remain the starter of the future, but Darnold would also remain in a scheme in which he convinced.
Darnold was the 3rd pick in the draft 2018 of the New York Jets and did not get in the league in the League in three years or in two at the Carolina Panthers. He then acted for a year as a backup in San Francisco before he went to Minnesota.