Sam Darnold picked Vikings over Broncos in 2024

Sam Darnold picked the Vikings over the Broncos during free agency in 2024. Denver later traded for Zach Wilson.

The Minnesota Vikings‘ impressive season ended with a dud on Monday when they were knocked out of the NFL playoffs with a 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round.

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has received heavy criticism on social media after he struggled against the Rams. The 27-year-old quarterback went 25-of-40 passing for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Darnold was also sacked nine times for losses of 82 yards, and he lost a fumble. It was a brutal performance for the QB who had an otherwise impressive 2024 campaign.

Darnold weighed offers from the Vikings and Denver Broncos as a free agent last March, according to the Boston Globe‘s Ben Volin. Denver’s interest in Darnold was also reported by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports and confirmed by KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Darnold ended up signing a one-year, $10 million deal with Minnesota and the Broncos later traded for Zach Wilson. Had Denver landed Darnold, the team presumably still would have drafted Bo Nix in the first round as a long-term QB.

Darnold completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season. Wilson was a healthy scratch as QB3 for the Broncos behind Nix and primary backup Jarrett Stidham in 2024.

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