Broncos, Commanders & Vikings In Mix For Sam Darnold

Schrager adds that Marcus Mariota is a “sneaky veteran quarterback to watch” for these teams as well. 

The Vikings have consistently been linked to Darnold in recent days, so at this point, it appears as though they could be the favorite to sign him. 

Denver has Jarrett Stidham as their current starter, but they could always address the position in the draft. 

The Commanders are widely expected to draft a quarterback at No. 2 overall and they have Sam Howell still on their roster, so it’s hard to say how aggressive they would be to add a veteran at this point. 

Darnold, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2018. He was in the final year of a four-year, $30.370 million rookie contract when he was traded to the Panthers. 

Carolina exercised Darnold’s fifth-year option for 2022 after acquiring him from New York. He made a base salary of $18.858 million in 2022 under the option. 

Darnold was an unrestricted free agent for the first time this offseason when he signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the 49ers. 

In 2023, Darnold appeared in 10 games with one start and completed 28-46 of his pass attempts (60.6 percent) for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a touchdown. 

We’ll have more on the Vikings QB situation as the news is available.