Get ready for the Sam Darnold newscycle this week. The Vikings’ quarterback set career highs with 347 yards and five touchdowns in leading Minnesota to a 42-21 win over Atlanta on Sunday. And if they haven’t already, the Vikings have to be contemplating a monumental long-term question. Is Darnold their quarterback in 2025?
“I’d be really hesitant not to bring him back,” said Bill Simmons on Sunday night’s edition of the Bill Simmons Podcast. “Today was the first day where I was like, ‘Wow, they might have actually found their QB and maybe they should think about trading J.J. McCarthy.’”
No question, thanks to his one-year contract in Minnesota, Darnold is already the top name among players scheduled to hit free agency in March. He’s led Minnesota to its best start (11-2) in 26 years and might even have teams like San Francisco considering their future at the position. He doesn’t turn 28 until June and he’s already established career bests in passing yards (3,299) and touchdown passes (28). He also owns the league’s No. 3 passer rating (108.1) as of Monday morning.
More importantly for the future of the Vikings, Darnold showed Sunday he has fantastic chemistry with his two “sons,” Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison – who combined for 15 catches, 265 yards and all five touchdowns in the win over Atlanta (6-7). Head coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game that Darnold’s second touchdown pass to Jefferson was most impressive.
“They had obviously seen something on tape to try to generate a free runner,” said O’Connell. “And his ability to navigate a very, very uneasy pocket, to say the least, and get up and out and still keep his eyes up and find Justin, who really is on a route there that can declare a lot of different ways. So, finding him, even though he was by himself back there was quite a task, considering the movement he just had to make.”
Minnesota is making movement in the NFC. Happy to lurk in the shadow of the Lions (12-1), the Vikings are poised to either snatch the division crown from Detroit or secure the No. 5 seed as a wild card in the NFC playoffs. Their short-term scenarios are favorable. Their long-term scenarios, however, are murky.
McCarthy, the No. 10 overall selection in the 2024 draft, sustained a knee injury in the preseason opener. But before he works his way back onto the field, Darnold may have already led Minnesota to a future too bright to simply allow him to walk away.
For more information on the Falcons and Vikings, visit the Atlanta and Minnesota team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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