The Minnesota Vikings have a good problem at the quarterback position. Sam Darnold is having a career year but is entering free agency. J.J. McCarthy is waiting in the wings as the quarterback of the future. Nobody knows who will be the starting quarterback for Minnesota in 2025, but everyone has an opinion.
Add former Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer to the list as he voiced his thoughts in a post on X on Tuesday afternoon. Kramer, who played for the Vikings from 1977 until 1989, believes Minnesota should let Darnold walk next spring and promote McCarthy due to the salary cap savings the Vikings could use to improve their roster next season.
“I would like to see the Vikings save the , roll with J.J. and do what they did this year in free agency and build a strong line on both sides of the ball,” Kramer wrote. “McCarthy is a winner and a leader, match that with Coach O’Connell and the receiver core we have, the Vikings have a bright future.”
Performance of Sam Darnold has become Minnesota Vikings biggest surprise in 2024
There have been plenty of surprises this season for the Vikings, but Darnold’s performance as the starting quarterback has been in the biggest. Signed to a one-year, $10 million contract this offseason, Darnold is thriving under O’Connell’s leadership, throwing for 3,776 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading Minnesota to a 13-2 record this season.
While Vikings fans would gladly take Darnold back as the starter in 2025, it could come down to his asking price as Spotrac projects Darnold could command a four-year, deal worth $141.7 million next offseason.
A case could be made that Darnold could return to the Vikings on a lesser deal, choosing to work with the coaching staff and infrastructure that fulfilled Darnold’s potential after being selected with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. But Kramer believes that Darnold should take the money if it’s offered next spring.
“Darnold is doing an amazing job, I’m very happy for him,” Kramer said. “The NFL can be a short career. I hope he gets a lot of in his next contract.”
While McCarthy may not duplicate Darnold’s performance if he’s the starter next season, he could repeat the value he’s brought to the team. Over the Cap values Darnold’s performance at $34.5 million this season, which brings a $24.5 million surplus in value to the Vikings.
By comparison, McCarthy’s 2025 cap hit of $4.9 million is the same numbers as Darnold’s $5 million cap hit this season and allows the Vikings to use over $74 million in cap space to improve the team and retain some of their pending free agents including Byron Murphy Jr., Aaron Jones, Shaquill Griffin, and Cam Bynum.
It’s also could take full advantage of the final three years of McCarthy’s rookie window, which could build a team similar to the one the Philadelphia Eagles used to go to the Super Bowl with Jalen Hurts and the Kansas City Chiefs used to go to the Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes in 2019.
But if Darnold finishes the year strong and leads the Vikings to a deep run in the playoffs, the talk around the quarterback will only intensify. For a team that hasn’t had a franchise quarterback since Kramer was throwing passes in the 80s, Darnold’s future will be an interesting topic as they head into 2025.