ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler sheds light on Vikings QB situation with Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings don’t exactly want to let Sam Darnold go, but J.J. McCarthy is still the franchise quarterback, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Darnold played one season for the Vikings, leading them to a 14-3 record and an NFC Wild Card playoff berth. However, it ended early with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. So now, it’s a matter of whether or not Darnold will be back for 2025 and maybe another year before making way for McCarthy. Or, Darnold could be gone this free agent cycle.

“The Vikings are hanging around the rim with Sam Darnold,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “They’re weighing the option. Potentially, I’m told, that they are open to him coming back on a new deal. You know, talking to people around the league with other teams, they are skeptical that the Vikings would go the franchise tag route right now, because you’re looking at close to $40 million on a one year deal, which maybe that could facilitate a tag and trade, but that’s high coin for a player that is going to get a nice, robust market, but maybe not that high. So we’ll see how that shakes out.” 

McCarthy is the guy and Darnold is not, despite setting career highs across the board in 2024. It was a bit of a renaissance for Darnold, a former first round pick by the New York Jets. But if Darnold is off elsewhere this spring, McCarthy is the guy and the Vikings have another option for a veteran.

“But all options are on the table for Minnesota, but what was clear to me is that JJ McCarthy will be the franchise quarterback,” Fowler said. “They have no plans to trade them, it just depends on whether that’s six months from now, 12 months, 18 months, and watch for Daniel Jones. He was on the roster last year. He can be a cheaper alternative to Sam Darnold. (There) could be some interest there to bring him back.”

If the Vikings opt to not bring Darnold back to the team next season, one team to watch for is the Las Vegas Raiders, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter

“The Vikings have said that they’d like to bring him back, but that is not going to be cheap. The franchise tag remains an option,” Schefter said. “What team that I would watch with Sam Darnold moving forward would be the Las Vegas Raiders. I think, at some point in time, they’re likely to have some interest in trying to bring Sam Darnold to Las Vegas. We’ll see if they could make that happen.”