Sad News…After a heated argument Minnesota Vikings QB terminated his contract insisting that…
Initially, Darnold was entrusted with leading a Jets team that has proven to be a mess over the past several years.
Getting shipped over to Carolina didn’t go too much better, for the Panthers are among the worst teams in the NFL. The
San Francisco opportunity, though, allowed for Darnold to hit the reset button. Ironically, Darnold is now being
tasked with giving J.J. McCarthy the chance to develop slowly, the precise opportunity he didn’t get.
After five seasons in the NFL, Sam Darnold finally got what he needed: the
chance to sit behind a superior quarterback while soaking up wisdom from a great NFL coachAt No. 3 in the
2018 NFL Draft, the New York Jets took Sam Darnold out of USC. At No. 10 in the
2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings took J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan.
There are similarities between those two statements and yet the trajectory is goingto look different for the passers. Unless something wild happens, Darnold is the QB1, something that Kevin O’Connell
“We haven’t had to put out a depth chart or anything like that,” O’Connell notes,
“but yeah I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based upon the spring he’s had. And really where’s he at
in his career, in his quarterback journey. And what he’s been able to do coming in
and really hit the ground running and really kind of take advantage of a competitive situation.”
Darnold, in short, is a mercenary for hire. If Sam Darnold shines in September while leading his team to wins aplenty,
does the rookie even see the field in 2024? Maybe not, and that’s OK. The point with McCarthy isn’t 2024. The
Vikings are thinking about the long term with their young passer. Darnold is helping Minnesota to accomplish their
goal while hopefully playing strong football right now.
By 2025, the job will basically have been done. McCarthy will have had time to
marinate on the bench, soaking up vital wisdom about life in the NFL, mastering
the scheme, and continuing to develop his body.
Currently, Darnold is playing for just $10 million, but Minnesota has chopped the
cap hit in half with some void year tomfoolery. The cap charge is divided
equally between 2024 and 2025 at $5 million apiece.
By 2025, though, the team should belong to J.J. McCarthy, the young QB who had
the opportunity to learn slowly in a manner that eluded Sam Darnold for several seasons.
