The Minnesota Vikings were looking for a starting quarterback in the NFL draft, but they found one instead in Sam Darnold’s one-year, $10 million free agent contract.
Minnesota is 4-0 this season with Darnold at quarterback, and it will be one of just two or three undefeated teams after Week 4. If the Seattle Seahawks, who are underdogs against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, lose, the Vikings will be joined by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs as the only unbeaten teams.
That’s incredible given that Minnesota has been underdogs in its last three games, all of which were against teams who not only made the playoffs last season, but also won at least one postseason game.
According to Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated, the Vikings should have seen everything they needed to see before signing the 27-year-old Darnold to a contract extension, even while injured rookie J.J. McCarthy is waiting in the wings.
“In short, we’ve seen enough to warrant the risk that Darnold would not be worth the return if the Vikings were to offer him a deal that would make him both a perpetual mentor and competitor to the recovering J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings’ rookie and No. 10 pick who tore his meniscus this preseason,” Orr wrote on Sunday, September 29, 2018. “Darnold will attract suitors this offseason. Teams are rightfully drawn to the concept that gifted passers can live a second life outside of the hellscapes into which they were drafted.”
Vikings can pay Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy without sacrificing value in the quarterback room.
What a new contract for Darnold would look like is vital to contemplate, since Minnesota has at least $22 million locked up in McCarthy for this season and the next three combined, with a fifth-year team option and a first-round draft pick.
However, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott established the market for signal-callers in league history before Week 1 by signing a four-year contract worth $60 million each year. McCarthy’s average annual pay is only $5.5 million.
If the Vikings believe they can expect 75-80% of the MVP-caliber performance Darnold has delivered through his first four games in purple and gold, a new three-year contract at half Prescott’s annual salary appears to be a bargain.
That would still imply that Minnesota was spending around $35 million per year for one of the best-positioned quarterback rooms in the game, which included a solid starter now and a young backup who has the potential to be the franchise’s future
Sam Darnold has been an elite NFL quarterback through the first month of the season.
Orr stated that Baker Mayfield will earn $100 million over the next three years ($33.3 million per year), and that the deal looks fantastic for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in terms of value when compared to the truckloads of money the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants paid Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones, respectively.
The Bucs guaranteed only half of Mayfield’s pay, giving him genuine freedom after only two seasons in Tampa Bay. Minnesota can likely do something similar with Darnold, putting McCarthy on the path of Jordan Love, who spent three years learning under Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay before becoming a starter in 2023 and, arguably, a top-10 NFL quarterback shortly thereafter.
Darnold has 932 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions through four weeks, completing roughly 69% of his throws. Some of his toughest detractors have shifted from outspoken criticisms to mild skeptics, or even passive purchasers of Darnold in the long run.
The sooner Minnesota extends Darnold, assuming they intend to do so or envision a scenario in which it is a viable option, the more money the organization will save.
The Vikings may want to give Darnold a couple more games to gain more insight into his ability to stay healthy, deal with adversity, and play from behind in a pressure situation. However, if the team decides to extend its existing starter, it is likely to do so before the season ends.
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