ESPN analyst makes bold prediciton about Vikings and QB Sam Darnold that revolves around teammate Daniel Jones

The biggest question surrounding the Minnesota Vikings throughout the next few months will be the quarterback position. This is not too different from the 2024 offseason, when the discussion focused on Kirk Cousins. This year, the discussion is going to be with Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, and J.J. McCarthy. Darnold had a great season with […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The biggest question surrounding the Minnesota Vikings throughout the next few months will be the quarterback position. This is not too different from the 2024 offseason, when the discussion focused on Kirk Cousins.

This year, the discussion is going to be with Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, and J.J. McCarthy. Darnold had a great season with the Vikings going 14-3 and nearly led them to the number one seed in the NFC. The last two games have muddied the water of the discussion, which is going to be a difficult decision for everyone involved.

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Benjamin Solak makes bold Sam Darnold prediction

What will the Vikings do at the quarterback position? It's a tough call with the focus being on the field. What's interesting here is whether or not they believe the cost associated with Darnold will be worth it.

ESPN's Benjamin Solak believes the Vikings will make Darnold a large contract offer, akin to that of his teammate Daniel Jones.

I really, truly believe the Vikings will extend Darnold. They have the room for something in the Daniel Jones neighborhood — four years, $160 million is probably optimal, if they can get Darnold to sign that before another team in the free market offers him a whale of a deal. Depending on the size of the contract, they'll either keep McCarthy or quietly look to trade him ahead of a bad quarterback draft class and see if a needy team takes the bait.

Giving Darnold a huge contract like this would mean two things:

  1. Darnold is the future and better than what McCarthy will be
  2. He can still elevate this offense considering his cap hit

It's going to be a difficult proposition to sell to the fanbase that is bought in on McCarthy, especially at a cap hit that is less than $5 million in 2025. The intriguing thing is Darnold is playing how the Vikings envisioned McCarthy would when they drafted him. That's a hard thing to turn away when you have it in your building.

The Vikings have just under two months to figure out what they want to do at quarterback before free agency opens.

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