The Minnesota Vikings have close to $70 million in cap space for next season. That's a lot, near the top of the league. They're also going to need all of it because they have a pile of free agents to figure out. But the biggest question mark and possible price tag? What are they going to do with the quarterback position?
The season exceeded expectations, but then came to a disappointing end in the playoffs.
"I think it's way too early to, in that process to really identify exactly what that looks like," says Head coach Kevin O'Connell. "But we're going to go through every layer of it and we're gonna clearly decide that path that best helps us move forward to win games."
General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is not ruling out running it back with Sam Darnold, who had a career year, but struggled mightily in the two biggest games of the season, against Detroit and LA in the playoffs. Darnold is now a free agent with plenty of teams QB-hungry.
"There was some part of us that all believed that Sam was gonna have a a really good season," Adofo Mensah explains. "When we made the move, that was part of the calculus. I think everybody looks at these things as binary - yes, no, left, right - and I don't think it is that. I think it's making sure you have a certain level of play at the quarterback position for as long as Kevin and I are here."
Besides Sam Darnold another option is rookie JJ McCarthy who Adofo-Mensah says looks good after missing the season due to knee surgery. They could also bring back Daniel Jones, the former Giant QB who they released during the season. He's also a free agent but spent the second half of the season on Minnesota's roster and he could be the next 'bridge' QB O'Connell works with while McCarthy gets more time to get healthy and learn how to be an NFL quarterback.
But at the end of the day, the Vikings are entering another offseason with significant questions around their quarterback depth chart. That's an unsettledness that was supposed to be calmed last year when they drafted McCarthy.
Darnold played so well over 16 games after McCarthy’s rookie-year-robbing injury that the Vikings were faced with one of those proverbial good problems to have. Then Darnold foundered so fast over the final two weeks the situation went back to being a dilemma.
Neither Adofo-Mensah nor head O’Connell would speak in anything but vague generalities on the subject of interest in re-signing Darnold though.
“How we put things together as we move into the future will be based upon what gives us the best chance to win, what gives us the best chance to put the best version of the Minnesota Vikings football team on the field,” O’Connell said.
As for Darnold, his one-year, $10 million contract for 2024 was a steal the way he played. But the Vikings wouldn’t be able to get him on another bargain contract.
With a thin class of draft prospects and free agents, Darnold will be by far the most ready-made option available and maybe as many as a half-dozen teams who’ll be in the market for a new starter.
If they were to place the franchise tag on him and delay by one year a decision about the long term, that would still cost a projected $41 million in 2025 when the Vikings currently own only one pick in the first four rounds of the draft and also have several key impending free agents. Tagging Darnold could always precede a deal to another team, but there’s rarely a guarantee of a meaningful return when it comes to trades in the NFL.
What’s clear is the Vikings can’t afford to squander more years of McCarthy on a rookie contract in terms of maintaining a contender around him. With a superstar wide receiver in Justin Jefferson leading a list of standouts on offense including wide receiver Jordan Addison, tight end T.J. Hockenson and tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, the window is now for the Vikings to try to win that elusive Super Bowl.
McCarthy remains an integral part of that plan. He has returned to on-field work, five months after meniscus repair surgery.
“We’re really confident in him, his work ethic, and his preparation. But I can’t sit here and tell you I know anything for certain. I know that I’m willing to believe in the person that we have. That position is about talent and preparation, and he’s got those things in spades,” Adofo-Mensah said. “And so if that’s the course of action we decide, we’ll go there confidently.”
Jefferson, for his part, said he wasn’t concerned about the quarterback situation. Last year, he publicly expressed a desire for the Vikings to re-sign Kirk Cousins but gracefully pivoted to Darnold and developed a solid connection for their first season together.
“It’s not really something that I’m making a big deal about,” Jefferson said the day after the season ended with a wild-card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. “Whoever they decide to either bring back or to have in this locker room, we’ve got to make it work and we’ve got to do whatever it takes to get a Super Bowl.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.