The quarterback position for the Minnesota Vikings has been the focus of the last few offseasons and the hope is this will be the last one for some time.

It began with Kirk Cousins starting in 2020 and lasted five offseasons and now it's time for Sam Darnold to have his turn in the sun. He's been the talk of the National Football League world. The lack of starting quarterbacks in the NFL is a borderline epidemic and multiple teams still need one in the 2025 season.

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Matthew Stafford is staying in Los Angeles

One of the critical dominos that needed to fall to truly find out what will happen with Darnold next season was figuring out where Matthew Stafford was going to play. There were discussions with both the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders with contracts that could pay him up to $100 million in guarantees. 

The Rams let Stafford talk to other teams to gauge his market and their bet paid off, as Stafford agreed to a restructured contract to remain with the Rams.

LA’s quarterback is back: the Rams and Matthew Stafford reached agreement today on a restructured deal that keeps him in Los Angeles and quashes any and all trade speculation, per sources.

The first significant off-season QB domino has fallen. pic.twitter.com/wNwydqn49R

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 28, 2025

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Now that Stafford is going to be staying with the Rams, where is Darnold going to go? Right now, the franchise tag doesn't seem likely. Most of the teams that need a quarterback are picking at the top of the NFL Draft will have a chance to select one of Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. That could make it a little more difficult to execute a tag and trade.

Now, things could end up changing over the next few days, as the NFL Scouting Combine could provide them with new information that would lead the Vikings to place the franchise tag on Darnold.

As things sit, there are a few likely suitors for Darnold's service:

• New York Giants
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Tennessee Titans
• New York Jets
• Cleveland Browns

Darnold still could end up with the Vikings, but with Stafford out of the picture, his services will be in much higher demand.

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