The Sam Darnold Curveball Gets Tossed Around a Bit More

At this stage, seeing the franchise tag applied to Sam Darnold would be a bit of a curveball.

Even still, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap explored the idea a bit. He wrote on social media: “Even if the Vikings did not want to tag Sam Darnold I think it makes sense for them to do it even if they just want to trade him. Patriots did that with Matt Cassel years ago.”

The Sam Darnold Curveball

Already, the franchise tag has popped up in the news for the Vikings.

Kansas City is going to put the tag on right guard Trey Smith, ending Minnesota’s chance of snagging the talented offensive lineman. The possibility exists that Smith gets moved out via trade, but Minnesota seems quite likely to look elsewhere for help along the interior offensive line.

When it comes to Sam Darnold, all of the recent momentum has been moving toward the passer being allowed to test free agency. Kevin O’Connell has been spearheading that idea.

O’Connell — as relayed by Kevin Seifert of ESPN — had this to say about Darnold: “he’s earned the right to be a free agent, but we will continue to have ongoing dialogue and discussions with him and his representation.” Earning the right to get into free agency doesn’t sound like a player who is soon to see the tag.

And then there was a similar thought that arrived in an interview with CBS Sports.

“I believe Sam has kind of played himself into being probably the marquee free agent quarterback available,” the head coach said. “Now there’s a lot of conversations that will take place between now and the start of the league year […] We would love to have Sam back in Minnesota, but at the same time we do feel very confident in J.J. McCarthy. He’s healthy.”

Now, back to the idea from Fitzgerald: a tag-and-trade with Darnold. Originally, I argued that a tag-and-trade was likely given that Minnesota would look to replenish their depleted draft capital with a trade, but O’Connell’s words have scared me off of that position.

The deadline to apply the tag is March 4th, so the Vikings are getting into crunch time for a decision. Applying the tag, given what O’Connell has said, would be a surprise at this stage.

The upside, however, is being able to move Darnold for a pick, cutting out the need to work through the compensatory system to earn some draft capital for a departing quarterback.

Imagine, for the sake of argument, that Minnesota could get a 2nd for the 27-year-old passer (Cassel, the QB mentioned by Fitzgerald, was packaged with Mike Vrabel for a 2nd back in 2009). Have the Vikings had any luck in that round in recent years? Some recent examples include tight end Kyle Rudolph, linebacker Eric Kendricks, running back Dalvin Cook, and right tackle Brian O’Neill.

A 2nd, in other words, is a significant asset. Could Kwesi Adofo-Mensah demand that much for his starting passer from 2024?

Sam Darnold is coming off a 14-3 season that finished off with him playing very poorly in Week 18 and in the Wild Card Round. Nevertheless, he proved that he’s capable of being a strong passer who can pile up wins.

Stay tuned to see how the Vikings handle their QB spot. Lots that’s still uncertain.

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.

K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.