It was right there for Sam Darnold. The Minnesota Vikings quarterback led his team to a 14-2 record and was on the cusp of securing a massive contract in free agency. If he stuck the landing, he could have been the crown jewel for quarterback-needy teams this spring.
According to Spotrac, Darnold was projected to earn $35 million for most of the season but that number reached as high as $54.7 million entering Monday’s playoff game with the Los Angeles Rams. But after a performance where he was sacked nine times, Darnold has crashed out instead of cashed out, seeing his value drop to $40.1 million on Tuesday morning.
Sam Darnold’s comeback season ended with a dud in the Vikings’ final two games
Sam Darnold’s story was one of the best in the NFL this season. The third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Darnold was on his way to becoming a bust after failed stints with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. Fans were still unsure whether he would be a suitable replacement for Kirk Cousins after spending a year with the San Francisco 49ers and waiting for the Vikings' 2024 first-round draft pick, J.J. McCarthy to take over.
The plan shifted when McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason and Darnold took the starting job and ran with it. Over the first 16 games, Darnold threw for 4,153 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while posting a 106.4 passer rating and had a chance to give the Vikings home-field advantage in the playoffs entering a Week 18 game against Detroit.
But whatever ghosts Darnold saw during his time with the Jets came back to haunt him over the final two games. Darnold completed 18-of-41 passes for 166 yards in a 31-9 loss against the Lions on Jan. 5 and had an encore against the Rams on Monday, completing 25-of-40 passes for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Combined, Darnold completed 53 percent of his passes with 411 yards, a touchdown and an interception over the final two games. He also posted a 66.4 passer rating and had just 4.9 yards per attempt as the Vikings bowed out of the playoffs in short order.
The question now becomes what the Vikings do next. Darnold played well for most of the season and his current projection is close to the $41.325 million that Over The Cap has estimated for next year’s franchise tag. But it’s unlikely the Vikings are likely to spend that number after the final two games with McCarthy waiting in the wings.
There’s also the matter of fixing a roster that wound up having giant holes in the offensive line, defensive line and secondary that were exposed in the loss to the Rams.
It only takes one crazy owner (like Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Falcons) to give a quarterback more than he’s worth on the market. But Darnold will now get considerably less after crashing and burning in the last two weeks.