Sam Darnold’s season with the Vikings was like a Netflix drama. Some episodes had you hyped, others had you questioning the script. At one point, the guy was leading the Vikings to a solid regular season run having recorded 4,319 yards and 35 TDs. Then came the final two games, the QB swallowed by the pass rush like he’s stuck in a “Stranger Things” upside-down pocket.

With that being said, Darnold is now hitting the free agency, and the big question is—is he gonna return to Minnesota, or was it just a single-season cameo? Fasten your seatbelts, folks, this offseason just got juicy for the Vikings. During the Super Bowl week, the Vikings head coach, Kevin O’Connell appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio where he discussed the QBs, Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy.

When asked about Darnold’s return to Minnesota, O’Connell went straight-up talking about his QB while keeping other teams in mind. “Still have a possibility of bringing Sam Darnold back. There’s all kinds of, you know, franchise tags and trying to maybe negotiate a longer-term deal,” he said. Uh-huh! But that’s not gonna be as easy as it sounds.

You see, if the Vikings offer a long-term deal to Darnold, then he’ll have to compete for the QB1 spot. The reason? Well, J.J. McCarthy is now fit and will be returning after suffering a full torn meniscus and missing out on his rookie season. On top of that, McCarthy also declared that he’s looking for a fair opportunity in the 2025 season. So it’s gonna be a tough call for O’Connell and management to make.

Now, hold that thought because that’s not the only case with Darnold. I mean, he’s in free agency after having the best season of his career in 2024, right? That means many teams have their eyes set on the QB to pull out the heroics he did with the Vikings—of course, except for the final two games. And O’Connell knows it pretty well. “But I do know this, I think Sam Darnold is the Marquise player at the position available in free agency,” he continued.

“And if he gets a chance to really see what’s out there, I think a lot of teams are going to be hoping to have that kind of production from Sam Darnold for their team. And if that’s the case, if that’s how it all shakes out, nobody will be more proud than Sam.” Here’s the deal: a lot of teams are looking for a QB in 2025. Most notable option? The Las Vegas Raiders and trust me there are a couple of major reasons behind it.

For starters, the Raiders have a hefty salary cap space of $99.53M. To make things more spicy, their head coach, Pete Carroll, and OC, Chip Kelly, think that Darnold might be the Raiders’ secret sauce—their very own Heisenberg formula to cook up something special in 2025.

All in all, we can just say that the HC wants his QB to return home. However, if the Minnesota team decides to franchise tag Darnold or offer him a long-term deal, then he’s probably not gonna be the QB1 for the entire 2025 season. And if they decide to move on from him, let’s just say, the QB has got a lot of options.

Sam Darnold’s NFL future is on a cliffhanger

Sam Darnold just pulled a Walter White this season—by going from “He’s done” to “Say my name.” But will the Vikings keep him cooking or shut down the lab? Guess we’ll have to wait a bit more for that decision to come out. However, the QB himself has his own thoughts about his future in the NFL. Recently, Darnold made an appearance on The USC Athletics. And first, he talked about the impeccable season he had with the Vikings in 2024.

“It was such a great year. Obviously, it didn’t end necessarily the way we all hoped it would, but yeah, it was a great year,” Darnold said. “Just looking back on everything, the teammates I had, the coaches that I had. The coaching that I got throughout the season, really opened up my eyes to how great of a coaching staff we had this year.” Despite his best season, his future with Minnesota is still unclear.

Now, as the free agency is just around the corner, Darnold could look for new teams starting from next month. And if he signs with a new team, then don’t worry, the QB already has plans of his own. “I don’t pay too much attention to what’s happened, I always try to focus on what I can do now to continue to get better and do what I can to not only help myself but my future teammates and coaches that are gonna be right there with me side by side on Sunday,” he concluded.

It is safe to say that the offseason is heating up and Darnold’s future is the hot topic. The guy gave the team a standout 14-3 season but their decision for him is still up in the air. General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been keeping his cards close while evaluating all other options. Now, let’s see if he wants to re-sign Sam Darnold, transition McCarthy as QB1, or consider someone else.

But one thing’s clear: Darnold’s gonna make a noise in the free agency. If he does end up there!