The Tennessee Titans QB solution for 2025 is yet to be settled on, and the top option in Free Agency remains a possibility. Sam Darnold's future is up in the air, and the handful of teams participating in this year's QB carousel are about to set his market.

ESPN insider Dan Graziano went on The Athletic Football Show with host Robert Mays at the NFL Combine to discuss what he has been hearing on the Darnold front. First and foremost, how competitive the Darnold market ends up being in the coming days will determine the Vikings course of action:

“I think the Darnold market has yet to form, and I think that's one of the reasons the Vikings are a little flat-footed. because, like, do we franchise him? And I think if you see Minnesota franchise him it's because they've identified a trade market. I don't think Minnesota is going to bring back Sam Darnold and make him their starting quarterback next year. I think JJ McCarthy is the one, the guy they want to be their starting quarterback in September. So if they franchise Darnold, I think it's because they believe they can trade him. if they don't franchise him, that might tell you a little something about his market.”

This part is intuitive. If a handful of teams are very seriously interested in bidding on Darnold, the Vikings are liable to tag and trade him to the highest bidder. That's the best way for them to yield a return on him moving, as long as his suitors are willing to pay greatly for him. If the market is less robust, Minnesota will let him leave as a free agent and take the compensatory pick that will come from it in the future.

And while legal tampering doesn’t begin until next week, Graziano alluded to the beauty of the Combine: frameworks for deals are already hammered out.

“The other thing is like, I mean… while it's technically illegal, I think you know teams and player agents come out of this week with a pretty good sense of what the offers are.”

In the interview, Graziano and Mays went on to talk about the sensible marriage between Darnold and Tennessee on paper.

If the Titans could land him for a reasonable deal, he’d present a multi-year starting option for a front office in their first year and a coaching staff on the rocks. Taking a rookie now could end up being dangerous for everybody involved. It would start the clock on the new front office’s job security, and the very early success of a rookie would be what this coaching staff has to hang their hats on.

But would Tennessee even be interested in Darnold? Would this coaching staff want him? Robert Mays chimed in to answer that question directly:

“I think at the right price, that would be a marriage that makes sense… that's what I’ll say. And I just think that it depends on the price tag.”

I can confirm this is the case. This coaching staff would be in on Darnold if they got him. But getting him is where the rubber meets the road for the two sides of this team’s leadership.

This is just one area in which there’s going to be a natural push and pull within the Titans building this offseason. There’s no controversy or drama that I’m reporting here. Brian Callahan and his crew are worried about the here and now. They’re fighting for their coaching lives this season. So naturally, they’re going to be more interested in some better, perhaps more expensive options like Darnold. He’s the head coach, that’s the way this is set up in the first place. Being on the hot seat only exacerbates that.

Chad Brinker and Mike Borgonzi, on the other hand, have been tasked with the longterm health and prosperity of this rebuilding franchise. That’s their primary consideration through all of this, so their natural worldview is going to lean more conservative and patient when it comes to committing to a QB.

Ultimately, here is what I expect to happen as of today. I don’t think the Titans will be amongst the most seriously invested teams in the Darnold sweepstakes. I think some combination of the Raiders, Steelers, Jets, perhaps Giants, and yes, the Vikings will be in on the bidding for Darnold. I think patience and frugality will ultimately win the day on this debate within the Titans building, and they’ll turn their attention to the rest of free agency and the Draft.

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