Failing to Tag Sam Darnold Would Be Organizational Malpractice by Vikings
Today was the first day that NFL teams can use the franchise tag and transition tag on eligible pending free agents. For the Minnesota Vikings, 2025 tag season feels a lot more consequential than it has in years past, being the most likely tag candidate in this town is 2024 starting quarterback, Sam Darnold.
After throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 66.2% completion rate, Darnold is scheduled to hit free agency on March 12. In 2024, Sam was a free agent. The Vikings had to bid him up to $10 million, in order to get him here as a bridge starter/high-end backup.
This offseason, it will take at least three times that amount in yearly salary and multiple seasons of guaranteed dollars to land Darnold. Most insiders and projection systems pin his next contract somewhere between $30 and $40 million per year. Unless, that is, he doesn’t make it to the market.
Minnesota Vikings ready for the JJ McCarthy era
Yes, the Minnesota Vikings have 2024 No. 10 overall pick JJ McCarthy on roster. And it’s true, all signs point to him being 100% healthy and ready to take over as starting QB in 2025, likely sooner than later. Thus, the Vikings do not appear interested in signing Sam Darnold to the type of massive contract they weren’t willing to give Kirk Cousins last offseason.
But, that doesn’t mean Darnold is bound for free agency just yet. The Vikings could still slap the franchise or transition tag on the former No. 3 overall pick out of USC anytime between now and March 4, then trade him to the QB hungry team with the highest bid.
Early this offseason, however, there have been a lot of local reporting that suggests the Vikings will not use either the franchise or transition tag on Sam Darnold. The mainstream belief, as of Thursday morning, is that the Vikings will to let him walk to free agency, where they would not be able to benefit from a subsequent bidding war.
Even head coach Kevin O’Connell has talked recently about how the former No. 3 overall pick out of USC “has earned the right to be a free agent”. The other concern floating around suggests that tagging and trading Darnold will not fetch anything better than a day 3 draft pick for the Minnesota Vikings, in return.
The Vikings still have all options available when it comes to Darnold. They could sign him to a multiyear extension. Unlikely. They could franchise-tag him. Possible. They could allow him to depart via free agency. Most likely. Whether or not the franchise tag becomes an option depends on whether another team would be willing to trade for Darnold.
That’s the question: Does that team exist?
Alec Lewis – The Athletic
If the Vikings were to tag Darnold, in the hopes of trading him, and the subsequent offers were underwhelming, that would indeed pose a huge problem for the Vikings. They’d be stuck either stuck with a $40M QB they don’t want or trade compensation that’s possibly less than what they could have received for letting him walk — 2026 compensation pick (likely) at the end of the 3rd round.
Do not believe the anti-tag propaganda
I am here, though, to denounce this anti-tag narrative surrounding Darnold as ludicrous. Instead, I beg those inside TCO Performance Center to see the obvious logic in tagging and keeping control of the most prized free agent asset of the entire 2025 NFL free agent class.
Let’s start with this Dianna Russini (The Athletic) report from Wednesday, where she tells Rich Eisen about the MASSIVE and highly SATURATED market awaiting Darnold this offseason. Not only are teams around the league hungry for better quarterback play, says Russini, they are STARVING.
💻 @DMRussini
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 19, 2025
Will Sam Darnold find a robust free agency market for his services? And how much intrigue at the QB position is there in the #NFLDraft after Ward and Sanders?#NFL #NFLCombine #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/ies58Aqp30
Rich Eisen: “What’s THE story heading into the combine, Dianna?”
Russini: “How desperate teams are for a quarterback. That has my attention. As Bill Parcells once said, you never go to the grocery store hungry and there are teams starving right now and I am curious to see how this is going to work out in terms of the Sam Darnold market. I don’t know if this could have played out any better for Sam Darnold.
What is his market truly going to be when we start hearing and seeing meetings and people chatting around the combine about those teams that are going to be interested in him because I feel like Sam is going to have a fat saturated market.”
Rich Eisen Show
So, we know there are plenty of teams around the NFL who are desperate for a good quarterback. Just last week, an NFL GM told Jason La Canfora (Washington Post) that the Vikings “have to tag Darnold. Those guys aren’t stupid.” But for some reason, the NFL world wants us to believe the Minnesota Vikings are stupid enough to let Sam walk for free. I’m not buying it.
Recent QB trades prove Sam Darnold’s worth
This idea that the trade market for Darnold will be a shallow, empty sea with a couple underwhelming offers floating around makes zero logical sense in any offseason QB market, let alone one that is as desperate as Russini claims.
And if there is interest, then the offers should be WAAAAY better than what is being initially reported. Take a look at these recent QB trade examples and what teams have received for dealing away middling quarterbacks, let alone young former 1st round picks with tons of upside. I would argue that not one QB from the list below has a brighter future outlook than 27-year-old Sam Darnold coming off of an MVP-caliber season.
| Year | Origin Team | QB Traded (Age) | Receiving Team | Trade Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Eagles | Sam Bradford (30) | Vikings | – 1st rd (’17) – 4th rd (’18) |
| 2017 | Patriots | Jimmy Garoppolo (26) | 49ers | – 2nd rd (’22) |
| 2021 | Eagles | Carson Wentz (29) | Colts | – 1st rd (’22)** – 3rd rd (’21) |
| 2021 | Lions | Matthew Stafford (33) | Rams | – 1st rd (’22) – 1st rd (’23) – 3rd rd (’21) – Jared Goff |
| 2022 | Texans | *Deshaun Watson (27) | Browns | – 1st rd (’22) – 1st rd (’23) – 1st rd (’24) – 3rd rd (’23) – 4th rd (’24) |
| 2022 | Seahawks | Russell Wilson (34) | Broncos | – 1st rd (’22) – 1st rd (’23) – 2nd rd (’22) – 2nd rd (’23) – 5th rd (’22) |
| 2022 | Falcons | Matt Ryan | Colts | – 3rd rd (’22) |
**Originally a 2nd Rd Conditional Pick
Look at some of these names and compensation. A 34-year-old Russell Wilson, who most believed was a shell of his former self at the time of the trade, fetched FOUR total 1st + 2nd round picks. The Lions received TWO 1sts and a 3rd for 33-year-old Matt Stafford AND got a starting quarterback (Goff) too.
The most comparable (for all the wrong reasons) is Deshaun Watson being traded by the Texans to the Browns before 2022, in exchange for THREE 1st round picks + a 3rd and 4th too. Watson (also a 1st round pick) was the same age as Darnold (27).
Related: BR Pins Top CB as Vikings Must Have Free Agent
The difference? When Watson was dealt to the Browns in exchange for a king’s ransom, he had two dozen civil sexual assault charges pending against him, and had just been cleared by a grand jury on criminal charges.
Darnold, on the other hand, comes with ZERO offield concerns and arguably as much upside. Yet.. the mainstream media narrative wants to convince us that the Minnesota Vikings are concerned they won’t even fetch better than (essentially) a 4th round pick in 2026?
The Minnesota Vikings aren’t stupid enough to let Sam Darnold walk… right?
No chance. I don’t care what the reports say or what top insiders are being told. Not only should the Vikings easily get a 3rd round pick or better in any trade involving Sam Darnold, but history tells us they should get much, much more.
Kwesi should, without a doubt, tag Darnold and demand nothing less that two first round picks from any team that wants him, That’s where negotiations should start. Do not buy this propaganda that tagging Darnold isn’t worth the squeeze when all hard evidence and NFL history tells us a much, much different story.
Related: Vikings Allow More Time to Negotiate with Free Agent CB, Not QB…
The Minnesota Vikings cannot let this opportunity go to waste. The Philadelphia Eagles won a Super Bowl last weekend because they were able to land WR DeVonta Smith, WR AJ Brown, DT Jalen Carter and S Cooper DeJean with the picks they received for trading Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts in 2021.
While other teams are desperate for QBs, the Minnesota Vikings are desperate for draft picks, being they only hold only four total picks for the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft; yet another reason why Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should be fired for organizational malpractice if he doesn’t tag Sam Darnold.
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