Insiders expand on Vikings' franchise-tag decision for QB Sam Darnold

Long before NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero (h/t Kevin Patra), along with ESPN's Adam Schefter, reported on Monday night that the Minnesota Vikings won't use the franchise tag on quarterback Sam Darnold before Tuesday's deadline, whispers emerged suggesting the Vikings would only retain Darnold's rights via the tag so they could eventually trade him this offseason. 

For a piece published Tuesday morning, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated hinted that Minnesota found no trade partner regarding Darnold's services during the NFL Scouting Combine. 

"The tag-and-trade idea has come up with the Vikings," Breer wrote about Darnold, "but if that was the plan, they’d have to have a trade partner lined up before franchising him."

As recently as Monday, stories linked Darnold with quarterback-needy clubs such as the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders. On Tuesday, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic predicted the Indianapolis Colts will end up signing Darnold.

It's believed Darnold ultimately could put pen to paper on a contract similar to the three-year deal that Baker Mayfield received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason. That contract reportedly had a maximum value of $115M at the time of its signing and included $30M guaranteed in 2024, $30M (with $20M guaranteed) in 2025 and some escape hatches for Tampa Bay that won't be triggered anytime soon.

Theoretically, a club such as the Giants, Raiders or Colts willing to pay Darnold should also match Minnesota's asking price for the 27-year-old in a trade. After all, Darnold is set to become the top quarterback available in free agency who, per Pro Football Reference, ended the 2024 season ranked fifth in the NFL with 4,319 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns. 

As Schefter and others have noted, though, some fear Darnold "appeared to hit his ceiling" by the end of the campaign and was even seeing "ghosts" in his final two starts. He passed for 166 yards with no touchdowns in the 31-9 Week 18 loss at the Detroit Lions that determined the champions of the NFC North and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Darnold then took nine sacks, tossed an interception and lost a second-quarter fumble that was returned for a score in Minnesota's 27-9 wild-card defeat at the Los Angeles Rams.

By all accounts, the Vikings appear ready to make 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy their new QB1 even though he was sidelined for his entire rookie season after he needed a full meniscus repair. That reality, along with the final two contests of Minnesota's season, seemingly left other teams essentially daring the Vikings to tag Darnold, but they instead will now see if he'll give them any kind of discount before the free-agent negotiating window opens March 10.