After helping the Minnesota Vikings improve their 2024 record to 4-0 on Sunday, more are starting to wonder what it would take for veteran quarterback Sam Darnold to remain with the franchise beyond this season since he's currently scheduled to become a free agent next year.
During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday, legendary former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick shared if he believed the Vikings could re-sign Darnold in 2025 if he ends up helping the team win an NFC North title this season and Minnesota is able to achieve a significant amount of success in the playoffs.
"Well, I think it would definitely change things if that were to happen. That's what happened with Brady. That's what happened with Kurt Warner and Trent Green. When your quarterback takes you to a Super Bowl championship, what else do you want him to do?
Is Sam Darnold emerging as the long-term solution at QB for the Minnesota Vikings?
The two players Belichick mentioned, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner, both wound up leading their respective teams to Super Bowl wins in their first seasons as a starter with the organization. If Darnold were to lead the Vikings to their first-ever Super Bowl win this season, then yes, the team should definitely re-sign him in 2025 and figure out something different for J.J. McCarthy.
But is there a scenario where Minnesota could still bring Darnold back even if he doesn't lead them to a Super Bowl win this year?
Unless he actually does help the Vikings win the franchise's first Vince Lombardi trophy, it's hard to envision the team wanting to pay him a bunch of money to remain in the Twin Cities. That's something Minnesota just got away from with Kirk Cousins, and for 2025 and beyond, they are hoping to take advantage of the benefits that come from having McCarthy as their starting quarterback on a cheap rookie contract.
This isn't to take anything away from how well Darnold has performed so far this year, he's been great. But he was never signed by the Vikings to be the team's long-term starting quarterback.
Minnesota brought him in to start until McCarthy is ready to take over, and they're going to stick with that plan unless Darnold does something that no other quarterback in the history of the franchise has ever accomplished before.