Sam Darnold had an inspiring 2024 season for the Minnesota Vikings, at least until an ugly two-game finish that may have rerouted his future with the team. Head coach Kevin O'Connell all but confirmed Darnold as a candidate to play elsewhere in 2025, telling reporters Friday that the quarterback has "earned the right to be a free agent" in March.
After O'Connell won this season's Coach of the Year award on Thursday, there was a report that the Vikings coach used his news conference to declare Darnold would "be a huge part" of Minnesota's ongoing hunt for a Super Bowl. O'Connell has since clarified, as ESPN reported:
"Look, you guys know how I feel about Sam," O'Connell said. "He is a guy that we identified last year as somebody who could come in and be successful. And really no matter where he was at before he arrived in his quarterback journey, it was about maximizing our time together. And I think we did that, and I think it was a very special year for Sam. And what that earned him is, everybody in our league now thinks he's a bona fide legitimate starting quarterback and can win a lot of football games. ... So 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, as well as being really excited about J.J. McCarthy and where he's at in his rehab."
In other words, don't count on the Vikings making Darnold a top priority at the quarterback position going into the 2025 offseason, despite his prolific passing production under O'Connell. Minnesota brass took a similar public stance with previous starter Kirk Cousins ahead of his own free agency tour last offseason, only to let the veteran signal-caller strike a deal with the Atlanta Falcons at the start of the negotiating period.
O'Connell's remarks come days after McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season due to knee surgeries, told "The Rich Eisen Show" he's simply hoping for a "fair opportunity" to be the team's quarterback moving forward.
