In the NFL, one big move from a team can have a trickle-down effect, impacting the moves of other teams or players. One example: The Seattle Seahawks traded veteran quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders Friday, with potentially changed the outlook for another signal-caller who had major question marks going into the offseason.
With Smith shipped to Vegas to rejoin his former head coach in Pete Carroll, Sam Darnold is not expected to return to the Minnesota Vikings, according to the NFL Network.
“I don’t know and no one around the league really knows who the frontrunner for Sam Darnold is,” said CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones, who adds the former No. 3 overall pick has been the domino that everyone’s been waiting to fall when it comes to quarterbacks.
Darnold, who sits atop Pete Prisco’s Top 100 free agents for 2025, will officially become a free agent when the new league year begins on Wednesday, March 12 and teams can then begin to put in their offers. Teams can still try to lock up a verbal agreement with players as early as Monday, March 10 when the legal tampering period begins.
Minnesota still has J.J. McCarthy, who they took at No. 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft, so won’t feel as much pressure as quarterback-needy teams to bring the checkbook out to sign a veteran.
McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury during the preseason and is expected to be cleared to practice this spring, essentially making him the clear front-runner for the starting job if Darnold indeed leaves. The team is now shifting its focus to adding another member of its quarterback room, per To Pelissero.
Seahawks trade Geno Smith to Raiders: Ranking Seattle’s QB options after making surprising deal with Las Vegas
John Breech
One option for Minnesota is re-signing Daniel Jones, who they added during the 2024 season after the former New York Giants QB was released from the team who drafted him. Jones is reportedly considering multiple opportunities for the 2025 season.
Darnold signed a one-year contract with the Vikings and had a career year in 2024. He finished the season with 4,319 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and a 66.2 completion percentage, all career highs. The 27-year-old helped lead the Vikings to a 14-3 record, but struggled when it mattered most, losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 18 and losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round.
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