Sam Darnold (New York Jets)
Less than three years ago, Sam Darnold was being touted as the franchise savior for the Jets. New York selected Darnold out of USC with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and the team figured they were set at quarterback for at least the next decade.
Well, things haven’t exactly worked out for the Jets and their young passer since his arrival. Last season, he appeared to be making some progress after an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2018. This year, however, he’s off to a miserable start and he’s missed New York’s last two games with a shoulder injury.
So far this season, Darnold has completed just 59.4 percent of his passes for 792 yards (198 per matchup), three touchdowns, and four interceptions in four games. But is his regression this year mostly his fault or does it have to do with the Jets having arguably the worst head coach in the NFL in Adam Gase?
There’s already talk of New York tanking to land the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft so they can select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. So it would make sense for the Jets to try and move Darnold before this season’s trade deadline if they’re already thinking about drafting his replacement.
If New York actually is taking offers for their current quarterback right now, the Vikings should consider seeing what it would take to acquire him.
It wasn’t very long ago that Darnold was considered by some as the top passing prospect available in the 2018 draft. He’s still young enough (23) to get his career back on track if he lands with the right team.
Darnold still has at least one more year left on his rookie contract with the option for a fifth since he was selected in the first round. So if Minnesota were able to acquire him, they could potentially keep him on his rookie deal until 2023.
Adding Darnold would put immediate pressure on Kirk Cousins to perform better than he has so far this season. And if Cousins is unable to turn things around, then the Vikings would at least have a much better second option in Darnold than the current guy they have on their roster pretending to be a backup quarterback in Sean Mannion.