III: Vikings QB Sam Darnold
The Minnesota Vikings have their own quarterback quagmire to sort through this offseason. Their one and only quarterback under contract for the 2025 NFL season is rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is rehabbing a torn ACL. All season long, the case for the team to re-sign veteran quarterback Sam Darnold has grown and grown. In fact, some NFL analysts have even gone so far as to suggest that Darnold had played so well all season long that he played himself out of the market range of the Vikings to extend him to a fair market value contract.
Some NFL analysts have even proposed placing a franchise tag on Darnold for a one-year contract, trading him away, and signing a veteran free agent quarterback like former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold laid an egg in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions. In that game, Darnold only completed 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. That instantly changed the narrative of 'Can the Vikings afford to extend Sam Darnold?' overnight to much different question: 'Should the Vikings extend Sam Darnold?'
And one of the Minnesota Vikings beat reporters, Charley Walters of Pioneer Press, doesn't think that the Vikings will extend Darnold if he has a bad game against the Rams. And Walters is typically plugged into the sentiment of the Vikings coaches and front office:
“Should [Sam] Darnold flop against the #Rams on Monday, it’s unlikely the #Vikings will franchise-tag him at a one-year cost of about $40 million”, per @Charley_Walters. pic.twitter.com/hgmPYIZBbq
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) January 12, 2025
So while the Rams players and coaches feel the pressure to perform well for the Los Angeles community, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold faces a different type of pressure. He is under pressure not to screw up again. That often results in a tough game for any NFL player.
Against the Rams in Week 8, Darnold completed 18 of 25 passes for 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times in the game for a loss of 28 yards. The Vikings lost that game by 10 points.
Darnold has played well all season long. But he played one of his worst games of the season in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions. Even knowing that it was not a win-or-go-home setting, he simply did not show up in a positive light in the game that followed. And he has to get right back on the saddle to face the Rams in the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs. He is under far more pressure in this game than many realize. That could make this a difficult game for Darnold.