2025 NFL Free Agents: Predictions for Potential Offseason Targets amid Rumors

When the Minnesota Vikings gave Sam Darnold a one-year, $10 million pact last offseason, they wanted him to be a viable placeholder until first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy was ready to take over. Darnold apparently had greater ambitions.

Rather than just be a bridge quarterback, Darnold has given Minnesota real reasons to consider him a building block. He has played his way into the MVP race while giving the Vikings a chance to capture the NFC’s top seed. He has also potentially tied his future to this team.

The Vikings are “open-minded about bringing him back for 2025,” per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, who added that the “simplest and most probable route is the franchise tag.” Darnold might covet longer term security, but getting a roughly $40 million salary to quarterback one of the league’s top teams isn’t a bad gig.

If Darnold isn’t tagged, he should have chances to start elsewhere, though the market may not treat him as your typical MVP candidate, since the 27-year-old had never flashed anything even resembling his current form. One more season in Minnesota might be best for him, then, as convincing suitors—Vikings included—that his emergence is legitimate and sustainable could lead to a gigantic payday in 2026.