Somewhere in California, about a week ago, former NBA legend Paul Pierce was having a night.
Like many Americans, Pierce was watching the Seattle Seahawks destroy the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional playoff game when he reached for his phone. Overcome by Saturday night vibes, he opened his X app and promptly delivered what was on the minds of every football fan.
“Minnesota had Darald lol and lee him go…” The post read.
A few libations may have gotten in the way, like an adult game of “Telephone,” but the message was sent. One week later, Sam Darnold looked like the franchise quarterback the Vikings had been searching for, throwing for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions while leading Seattle to a 31-27 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game.
With that, Vikings fans took to social media in the same way Pierce did, with the refrain, It should have been me. Everyone wondered just how they could let Darnold walk out of the building after a 14-win season and give the keys to J.J. McCarthy.
Many of those critics believe that if things were different, Darnold would have been on that same stage wearing a Vikings uniform after leading them to their first Super Bowl appearance in roughly 50 years. However, that would ignore many of Minnesota’s flaws that came back to haunt them this season.
The Vikings didn’t want to commit long-term to Darnold, but it didn’t mean that it was impossible to keep him around. The franchise tag was a lever they could have pulled to buy extra time for McCarthy’s development after missing all of last season due to injury. Still, the $40.2 million would have handcuffed what the team could have done to improve in free agency.
But, on closer inspection, they could have franchise-tagged Sam Darnold. The $49.6 million they invested annually in Will Fries, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave gave Vikings fans the dopamine hit they were craving going into the season. Still, none of those players lived up to the hype.
In the NFL’s biggest offseason spending spree, the best free agent was linebacker Eric Wilson, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract. It would have been interesting to see the Vikings spend smarter and not harder, and bring Darnold back with better investments around him.
As the 2021 Vikings proved, that plan isn’t guaranteed to work. But it would have solved the Vikings quarterback issues. Kevin O’Connell’s third-and-one deep shots look a lot better when Darnold is throwing them. There would be no talk of concrete drying or fundamentals. They could have worked with McCarthy as the heir apparent or used him as trade bait for the upcoming offseason.
Wide receivers such as Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison would have fewer drops due to the familiarity of Darnold’s “fastball” (another term that would have never seen the light of day). The defense, which improved as the season progressed, would have had the backup it needed. Meanwhile, several close games that didn’t go Minnesota’s way, such as home losses to the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and Chicago Bears, could have ended up in the win column.
A 12-5 record could have won the NFC North, and the Vikings could have been on their way to a deep run in the playoffs. But treating this as a one-for-one has its pitfalls and ignores the reality that this was a flawed team compared to the one Darnold walked into in Seattle.
Remember that at this time last year, people thought the offensive line was Darnold’s kryptonite. The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams threw Darnold around in the final two games of the season, and it had O’Connell ready to break the podium in half after watching a 14-2 start go down the drain.
The Vikings threw money at the problem by signing Ryan Kelly and Will Fries in free agency and drafting Donovan Jackson in the first round. But it didn’t stop them from getting hit by the injury bug. Christian Darrisaw never felt comfortable with his surgically repaired knee, and the Vikings assembled their offensive line the way Billy Martin drew New York Yankees lineups out of a hat.
Perhaps Sam Darnold could have mitigated some of the issues that come from working behind Minnesota’s 55th different offensive line combination of the season. Still, he may not have been able to make up for Jordan Addison’s three-game suspension. O’Connell’s reluctance to utilize the running game in key moments was also a problem toward the end of last season, and it didn’t get much better despite an increase in efficiency.
There was also the injury luck that was present in 2024 that the Vikings didn’t have this season. Minnesota’s starters missed a grand total of 14 games last season, which didn’t expose the lack of depth due to years of poor drafting. By comparison, Vikings starters missed 37 games due to injury last year, almost triple from the year before.
Vikings fans may also lament the wasted defensive effort Brian Flores led, which took off after Minnesota’s 4-8 start. While some may applaud the Vikings for not giving up, they faced several teams that had booked tee times in Cancun, and the Green Bay Packers were resting starters for a playoff matchup.
Again, Sam Darnold could make up for some of these flaws. But it wasn’t anything near the situation he walked into in Seattle.
The Seahawks are a loaded group with a similar defense and a better supporting cast around the quarterback. While they’re paying Darnold $33.9 million this year, they’ve made up for it by drafting well and getting immediate contributions from players on rookie contracts, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Byron Murphy (the defensive tackle), Grey Zabel, Nick Emmanwori, Zach Charbonnet, and Kenneth Walker III.
By drafting well, the Seahawks were able to get Darnold, Leonard Williams, Cooper Kupp, and DeMarcus Lawrence in free agency and build a complete team. While the bill will come due for the young players, that doesn’t matter in a year where they all pop on cheap deals.
That lightened the load on Darnold, who threw 68 fewer times with 271 fewer yards, 10 fewer touchdowns, and two more interceptions than he had a year ago. But that didn’t matter because the team was there to pick him up.
However, that wasn’t the case when Darnold stood in front of a swinging gate in Detroit and Arizona toward the end of last season, and it wouldn’t have been the case had the Vikings kept him around this season. They were probably good enough to make the playoffs and potentially win the division. Still, they weren’t good enough to go in and beat a team like Seattle, whose 27-point margin victory may not have been close if Darnold was starting over Max Brosmer on their trip to the Northwest last November.
I’m not defending Minnesota’s front office for letting Darnold walk out the door. But it also shouldn’t be the only thing Vikings fans criticize the front office about. Mistakes all over the roster would have kept any quarterback from leading Minnesota to a Super Bowl. It’s something to keep in mind as the Vikings pray they can find someone as good as Sam Darnold was a season ago.
