Sam Darnold made Vikings offseason even harder with Week 16 performance

Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold
Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold | Christopher Mast/GettyImages

The Minnesota Vikings quarterback decision last year was tough, but Sam Darnold may have made their choice in 2025 even tougher with a fourth-quarter comeback in a 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Darnold threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in the game, but no throw was bigger than a 39-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson that gave the Vikings the lead late in the fourth quarter.

On the deciding play, Darnold stepped up in the pocket and threw a running strike toward the end zone, connecting with Jefferson and leading Minnesota to its first win in Seattle since 2006.

Sam Darnold makes things very difficult for Minnesota Vikings with performance in win over Seattle Seahawks

The Vikings had a difficult quarterback decision last spring thanks to Kirk Cousins’s six-year tenure in Minnesota. But Darnold is making things even harder on the front office thanks to his play this season.

Darnold entered Sunday’s game with a $34.5 million valuation from Over the Cap and a four-year, $140.5 million contract projection from Spotrac, but his value is rising with each game.

After leading his fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season, Darnold has thrown for 3,776 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions this season, and his 2024 performance is presenting a big challenge for Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in the upcoming offseason.

A year ago, Adofo-Mensah decided to let go of Cousins, who was coming off a torn Achilles at age 35. Cousins left to sign a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, and he lasted just 14 games before being benched for rookie Michael Penix. But Darnold is 27, entering the prime of his career, and looks the part of a franchise quarterback.

Darnold deserves a raise from the one-year, $10 million contract he signed in March. But he could stand to make more money in the next two months.

With big games against the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, Darnold’s value could go up, and it could go over the top if he can lead Minnesota to its first NFC Championship appearance since 2017 or its first Super Bowl appearance since the 1976 season.

A key difference is the presence of J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in last year’s draft, and he gives Minnesota a low-cost alternative to Darnold. But McCarthy is also an unknown after missing his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus.

It’s a storyline that will continue to play out down the stretch as Darnold leads Minnesota into the playoffs. But if he stumbles, it could actually make life easier for the Vikings, who will have to solve a quarterback conundrum for the second straight year.

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