The franchise tag is set to open for the National Football League and the Minesota Vikings will be the focus with quarterback Sam Darnold.

There have been many different opinions when it comes to what the Vikings should do with Darnold, but the ambiguity is palpable. They could go a multitude of different directions with ramifications across the board.

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How Tom Brady and Matt Cassel factor in Sam Darnold decision

As things currently sit, the Vikings aren't likely to use the tag on Darnold, but there are things that could change that. ESPN's Kevin Seifert wrote this on Monday about the Vikings and the franchise tag.

Using the tag on quarterback Sam Darnold would be an expensive way of ensuring his return while avoiding a longer-term commitment that would hinder J.J. McCarthy's eventual ascension. It could also be a way to elicit additional value by way of a trade, but that would require a knowledge that multiple teams would be willing to bid. In the end, the Vikings seem more likely to let Darnold sign elsewhere and preserve their tag for a player such as cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., who had a career-high six interceptions in 2024 and is hitting his prime at age 27. If nothing else, it would give the Vikings time to sign Murphy to a longer-term deal while keeping him off the market.

What's interesting about how Seifert framed this on Monday is how he followed it up on Tuesday. There was some of the same rhetoric with some added caveats with Kevin O'Connell's time in New England.

"The Vikings will walk a very specific tightrope during this franchise tag window. On the one hand, they have a 27-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback in Sam Darnold whose contract is expiring. Normally, you don't want to let someone like that walk out the door for nothing. On the other hand, they have their quarterback of the future already on the roster in JJ McCarthy.

"So my understanding is that for now, as far as the franchise tag is concerned, the Vikings are going to sit tight. There's no real incentive to tag Sam Darnold at the start of the window, it'll be open until March 4. It doesn't mean they've ruled it out by any means, and it also doesn't mean they won't eventually sign him to a multi-year deal, but the key here will be whether the Vikings become aware of a potential trade market for Darnold. If there is, they could execute what's known as a tag and trade. In that scenario, Sam Darnold walks out of the building, but this time for draft pick compensation. It's not as well as it might seem. Remember, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was on the Patriots roster in 2009 when the Patriots tagged Matt Cassel and then traded him to the Chiefs. It's something to at least keep an eye on."

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The idea of a tag-and-trade is one that has been brought up consistently with the Vikings. However, we haven't had a quarterback example mentioned before and it's a very similar one to Darnold.

Cassel was a one-year starter for the Patriots after being a seventh-round pick. His only season as a starter was in 2007 after Tom Brady tore his ACL in the first game of the season. He led the Patriots to an 11-5 record and they are still the only 11 win team to ever miss the playoffs.

The Chiefs gave the Patriots two second-round picks for Cassel when the franchise tag was placed on him. Darnold has a more in-depth history in the NFL than Cassel did, but the asking price could be around the same amount if the Vikings find out at the NFL Scouting Combine that teams will be willing to bid for him.

The franchise tag is going to be one that will still be in play, but time will be the biggest factor.

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