Sam Darnold turned his one season as the #49ers’ backup into a big-time raise.
The Vikings on Monday learned quarterback Kirk Cousins is exiting Minnesota in free agency to join the Atlanta Falcons once the new league year begins. Minnesota’s vacancy at quarterback opened the door for the club to agree to a deal with unrestricted free agent QB Sam Darnold per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Darnold after one season with San Francisco agreed to a one-year deal with the Vikings worth up to $10 million.
This was partially the goal for Darnold when he signed on to be the 49ers’ backup signal caller last season. He needed a reset after a tumultuous first five seasons where he had three unsuccessful years with the Jets and two more rough seasons in Carolina.
Darnold acquitted himself well in limited action for San Francisco and one year after agreeing to a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the 49ers, he earned a $10 million deal to potentially be the starting quarterback in Minnesota.
Last season Darnold appeared in 10 games, although he only threw passes in half of them. He lost his only start against the Rams in the final week of the season when most of the 49ers’ starters rested. For the year he completed 60.9 percent of his throws with two touchdowns, one interception and 6.5 yards per attempt.
After parting with Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson, respectively, the Vikings and Broncos are now both linked to free agent QB Sam Darnold.
Kirk Cousins has agreed to terms on a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. The contract won’t be officially signed until the NFL’s new league year begins on Wednesday, but Cousins is headed to Atlanta.
That will likely be the biggest quarterback move of the offseason, and the market will now start to heat up for the remaining journeymen QBs available.
The Minnesota Vikings — who need to replace Cousins — are expected to “go after” Sam Darnold, according to The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini.
Neither Darnold nor Wilson would be a flashy signing, and neither one would be an exciting addition for Broncos fans. Even if Denver signs a veteran, though, the team will likely also draft a quarterback in April, perhaps with the 12th overall pick.
So while we wait for the Broncos to make a move at QB, Darnold and Wilson are apparently two names to keep an eye on. We are tracking all of Denver’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.
Assuming coach Sean Payton doesn’t plan to start Jarrett Stidham in Week 1, the Broncos will be looking to the free agent market for a potential QB1 this week. Options will include Kirk Cousins (but that would be difficult), Jameis Winston (who had success with Payton in the past) and Sam Darnold (who might be a realistic option).
Jimmy Garoppolo is not listed below because he’s technically not a free agent yet, but if the Las Vegas Raiders release him as expected, Jimmy G will be a name to watch as well.
So with the NFL’s free agency negotiating window set to open later today, here’s a quick list of 15 veteran free agent quarterbacks to keep an eye on. Note that Wilson makes the cut as a notable FA QB, but he won’t be returning to Denver. (Update: Wilson is signing with the Steelers.)
Sam Darnold could be an affordable short-term option for the Broncos, perhaps paired with a rookie.
As the Denver Broncos continue their search for a quarterback, Sam Darnold might be a name to keep an eye on this offseason.
Darnold was picked by the New York Jets third overall in the 2018 NFL draft and he failed to live up to high expectations, but he could be an affordable short-term answer in Denver.
Broncos coach Sean Payton is a quarterback guru, and he could get the best out of Darnold in 2024.
Three weeks ago, Andrew Mason of DenverSports.com pointed out that Payton has had success with reclamation projects at quarterback such as Kerry Collins, Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston (even Drew Brees was coming off a torn labrum when Payton signed him).
Darnold certainly fits into the “reclamation project” category, and Mark Kiszla of the Denver Gazette, former Broncos lineman Ryan Harris, Cecil Lammey of DenverSports.com and ex-Denver lineman Mark Schlereth have also linked Darnold to the Broncos.
He wouldn’t be a flashy signing, but Darnold has 56 career starts on his resume and he could help mentor a rookie if Denver opts to draft a QB.
Darnold has completed 59.7% of his passes for 12,064 yards with 63 touchdowns against 56 interceptions in his career. He started one game for the San Francisco 49ers last season and went 16-of-26 for 189 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Still only 26 years old, Darnold could be an option for the Broncos.
The Broncos reportedly tried to trade from No. 5 to No. 2 to draft Sam Darnold in 2018, but the Giants were not interested.
With the benefit of hindsight, NFL fans and pundits routinely mock the Denver Broncos for passing on quarterback Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft.
The Broncos picked pass rusher Bradley Chubb fifth overall that year. Two picks later, the Buffalo Bills landed Allen.
Had then-general manager John Elway managed to pull off a trade, Denver could have made an even bigger blunder than staying put at No. 5 and picking Chubb.
After learning that Baker Mayfield would go No. 1 overall, John Elway was desperate to trade up for quarterback Sam Darnold. He was ready to offer the Giants a king’s random.
Then-general manager Dave Gettleman ignored the call.
Elway reportedly wanted to trade up from No. 5 to No. 2 to ensure he could jump the New York Jets and land Darnold. The New York Giants were not interested because they were locked in on picking running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick.
Mayfield went No. 1, followed by Barkley, Darnold and cornerback Denzel Ward. Then the Broncos drafted Chubb fifth overall. It’s impossible to know how Darnold might have fared in Denver, but he went 13-25 with the Jets and then 8-9 with the Carolina Panthers.
Trading a “king’s ransom” for Darnold would have been a mistake — not as big of a mistake as passing on Allen, but arguably a worse option than drafting Chubb. Elway stepped down three years after that draft. Darnold has since spent time with three teams and he’s set to become a free agent in March.
Here are the top 12 quarterbacks who are about to hit the open market
The Carolina Panthers certainly won’t be on the lookout for a quarterback this offseason—at least as far as their main roster is concerned. But let’s rank the ones who are about to hit the open market anyway.
Here are the top 12 free-agent quarterbacks of the 2024 offseason:
Sam Darnold has a lot to think about in the weeks before NFL free agency.
It is an age-old question for quarterbacks who make a roster in the National Football League but are unable to land a starting job: Is it better to wear a cap and hold a clipboard and collect a pile of money, knowing that one injury could immediately create an unexpected opportunity? Or, is it better to get a starting job for a not-very-good NFL organization, knowing that a bad team often means taking more sacks and being subjected to more losing and physical punishment?
That is the dilemma for former USC Trojan and current San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Sam Darnold after the Niners lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Darnold played in 10 games this season, going 28-for-46 passing (60.9%) for 297 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He started the Week 18 regular-season finale when the Niners, assured of the top seed in the NFC postseason, rested Brock Purdy and their starters. Purdy was briefly hurt at times during the 2023 NFL season, which gave Darnold some reps with the 49ers. He was, on balance, decent but hardly special. The good side for Darnold: He got to go to the Super Bowl after years of misery with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. The bad side: He didn’t get to play much.
For a man who was a No. 3 NFL draft pick and is 26 years old, starting games should matter. Going to the Super Bowl with the Niners was certainly thrilling, but NFL players live to play games, not watch them.
Vikings Wire has mentioned the possibility of Darnold being a bridge quarterback if Kirk Cousins gets snapped up by another team in NFL free agency. Darnold would play 2024 and then step aside in 2025 for the quarterback Minnesota might draft this April. This is the kind of choice Darnold has to make. We will see what happens.
Judd Zulgad explains why the Minnesota Vikings shouldn’t be scared to lose Kirk Cousins because of a bridge quarterback like Sam Darnold.
The Minnesota Vikings have avoided quarterback tumult since signing Kirk Cousins as a free agent in March 2018. This isn’t to say Cousins hasn’t been a polarizing figure among fans, but there was no uncertainty about who would be starting at quarterback for the Vikings until Cousins suffered an Achilles injury in late October.
It appears that stability is about to come to an end.
The NFL season concluded on Sunday with the Kansas City Chiefs’ overtime win against San Francisco in the Super Bowl, and that means the offseason frenzy is about to begin. The new league year will begin a month from Tuesday, and Cousins is expected to be one of the most pursued free agents on the market.
The Vikings reportedly are interested in bringing back Cousins, but it seems they want it to be on their terms. Last March, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement on an extension, in part because the Vikings reportedly wanted a shorter-term deal than what the Cousins camp was pursuing. It was agreed talks would be shelved until the offseason. But the closer Cousins gets to free agency, the more likely it becomes that a guy who turns 36 in August is going to see what the market has to offer.
The hope has to be that the Vikings have spent the past 11 months preparing for life after Cousins. The 2023 season helped his cause in part because his absence resulted in the Vikings playing three backups (Josh Dobbs, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens) who couldn’t take hold of the job. But the Vikings’ 3-6 record also put on display many other shortcomings that need fixing.
Super Bowl week is the perfect place for rumors and rumblings to be bandied about, and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network linked the Vikings to San Francisco backup Sam Darnold.
This resulted in some not-so-favorable reactions. Darnold spent three seasons with the New York Jets after being the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. He had a two-year stop in Carolina and was Brock Purdy’s backup with the 49ers this season.
Watching the Chiefs and 49ers on Sunday, it became clear just how far the Vikings are from competing at that level in the playoffs. Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah needs to improve several areas of his team, especially on defense, and overall the Vikings need far more quality depth than they currently have.
This isn’t the time to run things back, but rather to move on from veterans and hit a reset that will set up the Vikings for the future. Cousins was brought to Minnesota in 2018 because he was considered the final piece of what the Vikings thought was a Super Bowl puzzle. That team was coming off a loss at Philadelphia in the NFC title game and wanted to upgrade from a backup who had a career year, Case Keenum, to a long-term replacement.
Cousins proved to be exactly that — the season-ending Achilles injury marked the first time in his nine years as a starter he missed time because of injury — but he fell well short when it came to being the final piece of a Super Bowl puzzle. The Vikings missed the postseason in 2018 and made only two playoff appearances in Cousins’ six seasons. They won one game.
Cousins deserves the opportunity to get one more big contract in free agency and go to a team that believes the same thing the Vikings did in 2018 — that it is on the verge of hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.
Maybe Cousins will surprise us and decide he likes Minnesota so much that he will stay on a short-term, discount deal that will put him in a position to start for one more season and, just as importantly, serve as a mentor to a guy like McCarthy.
That, however, seems like a long shot, and the Vikings have to know it.
That puts the Vikings in a position to pursue Darnold or Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew and draft the future starter. ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported over the weekend that the New England Patriots may be open to trading the third overall pick and that the Vikings and Falcons were teams to “keep an eye on” as far as potential trade partners.
Graziano also reported that some in the Vikings organization liked the idea of moving up and trying to get Daniels to pair with another LSU alum, wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Of course, if the Vikings get Maye or Daniels, odds are good he will be the Week 1 starter and the bridge quarterback will be there only in case of emergency.
While there is risk in taking this route, the Vikings are in the ideal position to do it. If it backfires, that could cost Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell their jobs. If the Vikings bring back Cousins at a significant price tag and keep running it back, both the GM and coach are likely to be shown the door sooner rather than later.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast atwww.skornorth.com.
What to know about backup San Francisco 49ers QB Sam Darnold.
The San Francisco 49ers are ready for yet another Super Bowl appearance, and they’ll have quarterback Sam Darnold on the sideline in a key role for Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.
If something happens to starting quarterback Brock Purdy, Darnold will step in and try to lead San Francisco to the Lombardi Trophy.
The former New York Jets and Carolina Panthers quarterback is one of the more prolific backup quarterbacks in the NFL, having been taken high in the 2018 NFL Draft out of USC.
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Let’s talk a little more about Darnold’s road to San Francisco as we prepare to watch his team take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 Super Bowl.
