Is Sam Darnold’s best football ahead of him? Kevin O’Connell believes it is
Earlier this month, the Minnesota Vikings moved to fill the void left by Kirk Cousins in part by signing quarterback Sam Darnold to a one-year deal. While it’s been made pretty clear — through various Vikings’ brass’ comments along with the contract structure itself — that Darnold is seen as a bridge quarterback, at least one person within the Vikings organization believes Darnold can give the team some quality play in that time.
"I think his best football is ahead of him because of how he handled the last couple of years."
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell stated in an interview with NFL Network insiders Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport, and Mike Garafolo that be believes that Darnold’s “best football is ahead of him”, specifically pointing to how he went 4-2 down the stretch with the Carolina Panthers in 2021.
O’Connell also pointed to Darnold’s work with the San Francisco 49ers and how it’s clear to him that Darnold has put in a lot of work to make progressions as a quarterback. O’Connell believes that the staff with the Vikings can “pick up” where Darnold left of in San Francisco and continue to develop him.
Darnold was a top-5 pick of the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft and spent four years as the starter in New York before landing with the Panthers and then 49ers, in mostly back-up roles. Now Darnold finds himself in Minnesota and is likely going to be the starter heading into the early part of the season while a rookie gets acclimated to the system and league.
Whether or not Darnold starts the entire season remains to be seen, but it’s clear he has at least one person in his corner to start his tenure.
Aaron Jones signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a 1-year, $7 million deal that includes a $6 million base salary and $1 million incentives.
The Minnesota Vikings struggled mightily in the ground game all throughout the 2023 season, but help is on the way. A day after being released by the Green Bay Packers, running back Aaron Jones has agreed to terms with the Vikings on a one-year deal, the terms of which are now being reported.
According to Matt Schneidman, Packers beat reporter for The Athletic, the deal includes a $6 million base salary, with additional incentives totaling $1 million, to bring the potential total up to $7 million, as was initially reported by NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
Aaron Jones contract details, per source:
Original GB deal: $11M base, $1M incentives
Final GB offer: Little less than $4M base, $2M incentives
Vikings: $6M base, $1M incentives
Jones wanted to retire in GB but didn't want to take another hometown discount of that magnitude.
Schneidman goes on to illuminate on why Jones ultimately chose the Vikings over re-signing with the Packers, showing that the Packers’ offer to Jones was for base salary just under $4 million, but had a bump in incentives to $2 million.
Ultimately, Jones chose the higher base salary and will be running for the purple and gold next season, joining Brett Favre, Greg Jennings and a handful of other Packers who went on to don the Vikings colors.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero: #Bills’ Gabe Davis ‘maybe wants a fresh start’ (video):
The writing seemed to already be on the wall regarding Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis as free agency approaches.
Davis posted a semi-goodbye message to Buffalo on his social media accounts. That was telling.
So was this take from NFL Network’s insider Tom Pelissero. He noted that Davis is probably going to get paid somewhere between $12 to $15 million as a free agent. That’s about expected, Pro Football Focus noted the $12M mark as well.
That’s out of Buffalo’s current ballpark.
But Pelissero added a nugget while speaking on the team’s radio show, One Bills Live. He noted that Davis might want a “fresh start.”
Wilson coming back seems unlikely to happen, and it’s not the only farfetched QB option Pelissero has proposed. During an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” last week, Pelissero suggested that even Kirk Cousins could be in play for the Broncos this offseason.
“I know that the track record on Sean Payton is he really has not played with a rookie quarterback a whole lot,” Pelissero said. “That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t this year … [but] he’s always wanted to have a veteran. I would fully anticipate that they’re looking at everything. …
“I would think that they’re going to look at all these free agent quarterbacks — I wouldn’t even rule out the possibility that the Broncos would make a run at Kirk Cousins. It will depend on the number. … if [Payton] believes Kirk Cousins gives him the best chance to compete in a really, really tough division … I wouldn’t take anything off the table.”
Pelissero noted that Payton has a win-now mentality and he’s not afraid to go all-in, even if it means pushing a cap mess down the road (just look at the New Orleans Saints as evidence of that). It would take a lot of cap manipulation, but the Broncos could make room for a Cousins contract if they really want to.
So when NFL free agency begins later this month, keep an eye on Cousins. Teams can begin negotiating with pending free agents on March 11. The new league year (and official start of free agency) will begin on March 13.
In joining the Minnesota Vikings, Marcus Davenport has one thing on his mind.
The Minnesota Vikings made a big splash during the first day of free agency by signing Marcus Davenport. During an interview after Tuesday’s practice with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, he made it clear why he came to Minnesota.
âI only got one expectation, and thatâs the Super Bowl.â
The Vikings are turning themselves into a destination place for free agents. Their report card from the NFLPA survey landed them top marks in the entire NFL and Davenport’s signing was reflective of that, specifically the culture.
Davenport is set to fit in well in Minnesota, claiming that he’s feeling good and his skill set is perfect to pair with Danielle Hunter’s.
The best part of his interview with Pelissero was when Davenport was asked about the added facial jewelry (nose ring).
“Really me, my wife and Dennis Rodman throwing it out there. Sometimes in life, I like to be inspired.”
You can catch the full interview here.
From Inside Minicamp Live on NFL+: A conversation with new #Vikings edge Marcus Davenport on his health, nose rings, Brian Floresâ defense and how good this Minnesota team can be: âI only got one expectation, and thatâs the Super Bowl.â @nflnetworkpic.twitter.com/v8DAI5n9Ba
In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Tom Pelissero reported that the Minnesota Vikings were targeting Alabama QB Bryce Young.
It was no secret that the Minnesota Vikings have a need at the quarterback position and according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Vikings were trying to move up for a quarterback.
“They were making calls about moving up very high in the draft,” Pelissero said. “But my understanding is that was for one player and that was Bryce Young who ended up going No. 1, and so there went any possibility for Minnesota to go get him.”
This report is contrary to what had been floating around right before the NFL draft. Those reports all said the Vikings were trying to move up for Anthony Richardson and that has been reported since draft weekend.
Regardless of which quarterback they were actually targeting, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is being aggressive in targeting a quarterback.
Meyer denied both getting into a heated verbal altercation with Marvin Jones and referring to his assistant coaches as “losers.”
Jacksonville’s game on Sunday against the division rival Tennessee Titans was a bit overshadowed (perhaps for the best, as the Jags lost 20-0, getting blanked for the first time since 2009) by a report released by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Saturday morning.
In that piece, Pelissero reports that Meyer’s relationship with both players and his assistant coaches has been fractured in recent weeks. Among the most shocking aspects of his report are the allegations that he called his assistants “losers” while painting himself as a winner and asking them to defend their track records as coaches.
He also reportedly got into an argument with veteran receiver Marvin Jones Jr. and lied to the media about the benching of running back James Robinson. That decision was blamed on running backs coach Bernie Parmelee, but per Pelissero, it was Meyer’s call.
Meyer told FOX’s Jay Glazer heading into the game that he believes he still has the full support of the ownership, and he reiterated that position during his postgame press conference after Sunday’s loss to Tennessee. He also denied getting into a heated altercation with Jones and using the word “losers” to describe his assistant coaches.
“Yeah, calling someone a loser, that’s inaccurate,” Meyer said .”I have high expectations for our coaches. I’m very demanding of our coaches and expect guys to be held accountable for their positions, and the times when they’re not, we address it. But I assure you there was not whatever report — Amy (Palcic) told me something about that. That’s nonsense.”
And then the other — oh, Marvin Jones. Marvin Jones had a conversation because he came to me and said that there was something in the media, and I said, what’s that, and I didn’t read it, and he said that people were blaming the receivers for all the issues on offense. And I went back and I looked at it, and it was about — I think I said something like we have some injury issues and some lack of consistency. We talked about that, and he’s great. We moved on, and he just — one thing about Marvin (Jones), and there’s a lot of players, especially these professional veterans, there’s a lot of pride.”
When discussing any potential leakers who could have spoken to Pelissero for his report, Meyer had his strongest words (which were also vaguely threatening).
“You watched out there today, Myles Jack and that defense and some of those kids, Roy (Robertson-Harris), (Dawuane) Smoot, those guys are playing their tails off,” Meyer said about the team’s effort and morale. “You get a couple scores on offense, you’re right there, and we didn’t do it.”
So what’s the answer? Start leaking information or some nonsense? No. No, that’s nonsense. That’s garbage. That’s once again — I’ve been very blessed. I’ve not really dealt with that. I’ve not dealt with, âWell, did you hear what he said?â What? No. Let’s improve on offense and get our quarterback in a position to be successful. That’s our focus. What someone’s brother said, or someone said someone said, that will occupy very little of my time. And if there is a source, that source is unemployed. I mean, within seconds, if there’s some source that’s doing that.”
Meyer is clearly frustrated that his first season as an NFL coach hasn’t gone according to plan, and if the report from Pelissero is accurate â its contents have been confirmed by the Florida Times-Union’s Gene Frenette â then it’s possible he won’t get a crack at a second season.
His tenure in Jacksonville has been plagued with controversy, beginning with his decision to hire Chris Doyle, who was fired from Iowa for allegedly making racist comments toward players, as a strength coach. He also became the center of national attention earlier this season, when his decision to not fly back with the team after a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals resulted in a viral video of him dancing with a woman at a bar in Ohio.
The report from Pelissero demonstrates the most recent unforced error, and though Meyer seems to believe his relationship with owner Shad Khan remains strong, only time will tell if that remains the case after a tough loss where the offense was nonexistent.
