Both Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings have remained mum on the veteran quarterback’s future as the team continues to pile up wins, their latest netting a 12-2 record entering Week 16.
Darnold signed a one-year contract to join the Vikings this offseason. With career season highs in passing yards (3,530), passing TDs (29) and QB rating (104.9) through just 14 games, he’s expected to be among the top available free agents at the start of the new league year.
What the Vikings do with Darnold’s contract situation is one of the NFL’s most intriguing mysteries with two months remaining in the season. Could the team work out another short-term extension to keep Darnold in Minnesota as current rookie J.J. McCarthy develops behind the scenes? Could they buy time with the franchise tag, with the potential of trading Darnold to another team if they can’t agree to terms?
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Darnold recently put the ball in Minnesota’s court, in a sense, telling sideline reporter Lisa Salters: “There’s no place I’d rather play. Just so grateful to be a Viking,” after Monday night’s 30-12 win over the Chicago Bears. Still, with McCarthy in the mix, Darnold sticking in Minnesota is far from a guarantee.
Matt Holder of Bleacher report sees the two sides parting ways this March. He recently named Minnesota as a potential landing spot for veteran Dallas Cowboys backup Cooper Rush, who takes an 8-4 career record as a starter into Week 16.
Here was Holder’s take on the potential fit:
The big question facing Minnesota’s front office this offseason is what to do with Sam Darnold, who has played well enough to earn a new contract and be a starter in 2025. However, the organization also invested a first-round pick in J.J. McCarthy last spring. If the club lets Darnold walk to make way for McCarthy, signing Rush as a backup in free agency would be a smart move. That gives the young quarterback a good mentor, and the 31-year-old has plenty of starting experience to fill in when needed.
Bringing in a player like Rush as McCarthy’s backup in 2025 would represent a “Plan C.” The most likely succession plan to Darnold right now, assuming McCarthy needs more time coming off a pair of 2024 knee surgeries, is Daniel Jones, who the team snagged after he was waived by the New York Giants last month. Jones is currently signed to the Vikings practice squad, and he could presumably have a future in Minnesota as a short-term backup, if the two sides view one another as a system fit.
Rush has performed relatively well when called upon in Dallas. He would be an unspectacular offseason addition, but he’s a cheaper option who could be viewed as an upgrade over current backup Nick Mullens.
The most likely scenario is Minnesota pursuing “Plan A,” which is keeping Darnold in the fold at all costs. McCarthy isn’t going anywhere, and the team is already building an elite, winning culture, as P.J. Fleck would say.
Rush could potentially be an option this offseason. But there are many layers to Minnesota’s current quarterback situation, which makes the career backup’s chances of landing in the Twin Cities a long shot, at best.
