{"id":25641,"date":"2025-03-05T21:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T20:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=25641"},"modified":"2025-03-05T21:05:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T20:05:16","slug":"the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sam Darnold Saga &#8211; Minnesota Vikings &#8216;officially&#8217; will not franchise tag the QB Darnold!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Minnesota Vikings have officially declined to franchise tag Sam Darnold before Tuesday&rsquo;s deadline and this could mean that Darnold could be headed somewhere else. If the Vikings were to tag Darnold, he would have earned at least more than $40 million next year. <\/p><p>The Vikings drafted QB J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan in the 2024 draft as the 10th overall pick in the 1st round. After letting their former QB Kirk Cousins walk into the free agency, the Vikings went on to sign Darnold to a one-year. Nobody expected Darnold to be that good in 2024 as he had a career-best season throwing for 4319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and 66.5 percent pass completion rate. <\/p><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/nfl-analyst-believes-that-the-commanders-acquiring-deebo-samuel-doesnt-really-move-the-needle\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>NFL Analyst Believes That the Commanders Acquiring Deebo Samuel Doesn&rsquo;t Really Move the Needle<\/a><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Vikings had to choose between Darnold or McCarthy <\/h2><p>Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, earned himself a pro-bowl nod, and he also helped the team reach the playoffs. He also finished third in Comeback Player of the Year award voting, and was ranked 10th in AP-MVP race in 2024. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What a season it was for Sam Darnold &#128079;<br><br>&bull; Led Vikings to 14-3 record and a playoff berth<br>&bull;&nbsp;4,319 pass yards, 35 TD, 67.5%<br>&bull;&nbsp;Top 5 in NFL in passing yards &amp; TDs<br>&bull;&nbsp;First QB to EVER win 14 games in first season on new team<br><br>Made himself a LOT of money &#128176; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/174dHS4EfZ\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/174dHS4EfZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; B\/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/brgridiron\/status\/1879020576418975968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>January 14, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The Vikings had made it very clear they wanted Darnold to be QB1 for the team and let McCarthy develop his game before potentially handing him the keys. What ended up happening was Darnold had an extremely impressive season but the rookie ended up tearing his meniscus in the pre-season and sitting out for the rest of the year.<\/p><p>The Vikings were in a dilemma regarding their quarterback situation. They needed to decide whether to resign Darnold who helped the team achieve a 14-3 record or fully commit to their rookie quarterback who hasn&rsquo;t played a single game yet but was the 10th overall pick. Now, it seems like they have the answer that they want.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Darnold may re-sign with the Vikings and run it back for potentially one more season<\/h2><p>According to Adam Schefter, even though the Vikings will not tag Sam Darnold, they could still try to resign him on a short deal, if their quarterback J.J. McCarthy is not fully ready to play next season coming back from his knee injury. However, since Darnold is not tagged by the Vikings, other teams can now pursue Darnold and offer him a way better deal along with a long-term commitment. <\/p><blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DGyrrwFJEfW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DGyrrwFJEfW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewbox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DGyrrwFJEfW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>A post shared by Adam Schefter (@adamschefter)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><p>There are a lot of teams in the <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/nfl\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>NFL <\/a>that require a great quarterback and Darnold should be a hot commodity going forward. Teams like New York Giants, and Las Vegas Raiders, could be on the hunt for Darnold as they desperately need a quality QB. He could still resign with the Vikings but he remains eligible for unrestricted free agency next week.<\/p><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/justin-jefferson-explains-how-louisiana-has-produced-some-of-the-most-elite-receivers-in-the-nfl\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Justin Jefferson Explains How Louisiana Has Produced Some of the Most Elite Receivers in the NFL<\/a><\/p><p><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Minnesota Vikings have officially declined to franchise tag Sam Darnold before Tuesday&rsquo;s deadline and this could mean that Darnold could be headed somewhere else. If the Vikings were to tag Darnold, he would have earned at least more than $40 million next year. The Vikings drafted QB J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":25663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[82,442],"class_list":["post-25641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sam-darnold"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Sam Darnold Saga - Minnesota Vikings &#039;officially&#039; will not franchise tag the QB Darnold! - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As per ESPN&#039;s Adam Schefter, the Vikings will not be tagging Sam Darnold. 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There&#039;s a possibility that he could return to the Vikings again.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-05T21:05:16+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25582506_168416100_lowres.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1095\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"802\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eric Divakaran\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940\"},\"headline\":\"The Sam Darnold Saga &#8211; Minnesota Vikings &#8216;officially&#8217; will not franchise tag the QB Darnold!\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-05T20:05:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-05T20:05:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/\"},\"wordCount\":496,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25582506_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"NFL\",\"Sam Darnold\"],\"articleSection\":[\"NFL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/\",\"name\":\"The Sam Darnold Saga - Minnesota Vikings \\\\'officially\\\\' will not franchise tag the QB Darnold! - The Playoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/the-sam-darnold-saga-minnesota-vikings-officially-will-not-franchise-tag-the-qb-darnold\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25582506_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-05T20:05:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-05T20:05:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"As per ESPN\\\\'s Adam Schefter, the Vikings will not be tagging Sam Darnold. 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