The curious case of Sam Darnold

By Trevor Speetzen February 18, 2025 05:46 GMT+4 min read

Unbeknownst to NFL football fans, Sam Darnold entered the 2024 season with something to prove and proved it he did. After Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback, JJ McCarthy, suffered a season-ending injury, it was Darnold who stepped up and led the Vikings to the playoffs.

Prior to joining the Vikings in 2024, Darnold’s NFL career at the time would be considered less than ideal. He was drafted out of USC by the New York Jets and the organization thought Darnold would be their franchise guy.

After a combination of inconsistent play by Darnold and a poorly run Jets organization, this relationship only lasted three seasons. Darnold was then shipped off to the Carolina Panthers after the Jets drafted Zach Wilson in 2021.

Just like in New York, Darnold struggled in Carolina as well and was eventually swapping starts with Baker Mayfield in 2022. Like the Jets, the Panthers were in rebuild mode and weren’t able to develop a strong supporting cast for Darnold.

Darnold left the Panthers after the 2022 season and spent the entire 2023 season as a backup to Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers.

Darnold then signed with Minnesota prior to the start of the 2024 season with the expectation that he would back up McCarthy. After McCarthy’s injury, Darnold was thrusted into the starting QB position and proceeded to shock the league.

Darnold led the Vikings back to the playoffs with a 14-3 record, finishing second in their division behind the Detroit Lions. Darnold threw a career high 35 touchdown passes and also had a career high in passing yards with 4,319.

Despite being a first-round exit in the 2024 playoffs, Darnold was still named to his first pro bowl and was a finalist for the NFL’s comeback player of the year award.

With such a successful season and his impending free agency during the 2025 offseason, it seems like that Darnold will be paid big this offseason and will become a major target for a lot of QB hungry teams.

While Darnold’s impressive 2024 season deserves recognition, it’s important to note that Darnold has a big question mark regarding his skill set entering free agency.

Darnold could be a product of Kevin O’Connell’s offense that makes quarterbacks appear better than they actually are. Before going to Minnesota, Darnold had almost no success in the league and had already been written off before turning 27.

However, did Darnold succeed in Minnesota because of the winning culture associated with Vikings? Darnold’s prior teams were in rebuild mode and didn’t really give him the opportunity to breakout and improve his game.

That being said, is Darnold going to be a player like Nick Foles where they’re only good with a specific organization that’s run a certain way?

If the Las Vegas Raiders were to go all out and sign Darnold to a big contract, will he be able to maintain this success or will he fizzle out with his new team and return to his old ways? Only time will tell as we enter the 2025 offseason.