5 emergency QB options if the Vikings lose Kirk Cousins to injury in 2022
By Adam Carlson
The trade candidate: Sam Darnold
The Carolina Panthers acquiring Baker Mayfield in a trade opens up their future at quarterback and enables them to move on from former Jets quarterback and No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Sam Darnold.
There are definitely pros and cons to trading for Darnold. At the moment, Darold is set to have a salary cap hit of over $18.8M for the 2022 season, so Carolina would have to eat a majority of that in the trade details. Plus, his entire career has been a roller coaster consisting of mostly low moments.
If the Vikings can get the 2019 version of Darnold to act as a backup to Kirk Cousins, that could be good. That season, he threw for over 3,000 yards, completed 61.9 percent of his passes, and had 19 touchdowns compared to 13 inceptions. However, his last two seasons in the league have been disappointing,
Kicking the tires on Darnold as a backup is an interesting thought, but there are a lot of things that would have to happen for a trade to make sense. Sadly, it appears as though Sean Mannion will be the man to beat when it comes to backing up Kirk Cousins.
Confidence rating: C
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