Last season the Minnesota Vikings ripped off 14 wins with Sam Darnold under center. They drafted J.J. McCarthy with the intentions that he could be a future franchise quarterback. That was thwarted before it started because of a season-ending knee injury .
It seemed as though Kevin O'Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had a decision to make this offseason. Both Darnold and Daniel Jones could have been potential options as free agents. With Minnesota in town to face the Seahawks, Darnold said that decision was made for him.
It never seemed likely that the Minnesota Vikings would re-sign Sam Darnold. Fresh off 14 wins, he was in line for a significant payday. Short of a franchise tag ( which would have made sense ) he wasn't going to be back. Even had the veteran wanted to return, it sounds like the Minnesota braintrust had made up their mind.
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Here was Darnold's answer when asked if returning to Minnesota was a viable option for him. pic.twitter.com/putUCEQNSG
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) November 28, 2025
The former third overall pick in 2018, Darnold had played for three different franchises during his first six professional years. It wasn't until working with O'Connell in Minnesota that he truly unlocked his performance.
Across 17 games last season, Darnold posted a 66.2% completion rate with a 35/12 TD/INT ratio . Even with a Week 17 flop, and first round exit, the results exceeded everyone's expectations.
Unfortunately, with McCarthy waiting in the background, Minnesota determined they had a plug and play situation. They weren't interested in committing to Darnold long term. They went even further by offering Daniel Jones the most money but telling him he wasn't going to start .
They got it wrong and have watched McCarthy posted a 2-4 record while being one of the statistically worse quarterbacks in NFL history. Instead of McCarthy facing the guy he replaced , the Vikings will roll with Max Brosmer while the former Michigan signal caller is concussed.
Next season Minnesota will need to determine if they want to double down on McCarthy, or right the wrong they made this year.
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