Personally, I think any of the discussion on Darnold staying in Minnesota is coming from Darnold's agent. For Darnold, it means there is essentially a salary floor for him going forward. He wants teams to think there is more competition for him, so why not continue to say "but minnesota still really wants me". Every indication of Kwesi and KOC says JJmc, along with the plan that Kwesi started when he got hired here. They spent so much to get him, and especially the pick that turned into Dallas Turner was essentially there in case they needed to trade up for a rookie qb.
I would be willing to get a Matthew Coller Tattoo if the vikings sign darnold to a contract over 100 mil this offseason
And I think the Vikings are in on the act, too. Maybe just to drive up his value for the comp pick formula or for Sam's benefit--I can believe KOC and Kwesi would do that for Sam-- but it's all bs like you say. NFL "insider" equals "agent and team mouthpiece."
Peter King always called this time of year the silly season. But I got a fevah. And the only prescription....is more JJ McCarthy. Multiple writers, Mathew included, said JJ's mechanics and such improved a lot just during the spring and summer camp. He may not have physically practiced but he knows the offense now and he's had a year learning how to be a pro and study tape. 14 wins next year is not realistic but playoffs are. As was alluded before they're "all in" now and taking that Darnold money and investing it in filling holes and creating depth as best to make the entire team better is the smarter move.
Also, I’ve mentioned this a few times here in the past, but for me redemption arcs are the coolest part of watching sports. We got like 90% of the way there with Darnold last year and it sucked to have that end on such a sour note. I love McCarthy already and want to see him play as much as the next guy, but the sports watching payoff on another Darnold year that actually went deep into the playoffs would be about as good as it gets.
Not surprised on the lack of a tag and trade. They were not going to send him somewhere he really didn’t want to go for a slight upgrade to the comp pick they’d get. At that point, you probably were down to only a couple of teams (LV and PIT?). I will be very surprised if he has to settle for 30m or less on the open market. At that point, it would not be crazy at all to see him back in purple for another year. I’d rather take 25m for one more year in MN and hit the open market again than take 30m per year on a multi year deal somewhere else.
I really respect your takes; I agree and disagree with you on this. First, agree that the Darnold story and Vikings season overall was wonderful. Agree that the no tag wasn't a surprise and that only a couple teams are in play. Dan Graziano of ESPN pointed out on The Athletic Football show how difficult the situation was for the Vikings given how unsettled the QB market was. Disagree on the Vikings sending him to a team "he didn't want to go" because it wasn't their choice. Thank you Ben Goessling for finally pointing out that Sam effectively had a no-trade clause this whole time given no team would do a tag and trade with the Vikings unless they knew he would sign a long-term deal with them. And only a fool would pay Sam more than $40M for a single season. So it was Sam's choice all along. (Phil Mackey saying "Call Sam's bluff!" What bluff, Phil? It was the other way around.) Last, I don't know why he'd take $25M to come back here for a single season when--like you said--he should get $30M+ and far more guaranteed money now from another team. And there's a good chance he sits most of the year if JJ continues the arc he was on before the injury so I'm not sure how Sam's value goes up in that scenario. Never say never, but I think it's one in a hundred he's back.
Totally agree that there were probably a decent number of teams that Darnold simply wouldn’t sign an extension with. But I don’t think the Vikes would do that to him even if that wasn’t a factor. I also just don’t think they’d ship him off to his second or third choice for a small bump in compensation. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes. Everybody is saying they don’t want him, but I don’t buy it.
That's an excellent point. You're right, I don't think they'd do that to him either. Which makes me like them more. I know some fans on The Athletic and elsewhere are like, "Screw Sam, he owes us." and "Screw Kwesi if doesn't play hardball." But I like that we have decent management on this team.
Yeah... If we did not have JJM I would be thrilled to lock Darnold up... But not with JJM waiting
The Bucs with Mayfield and the Hawks with Smith. . .didn’t have viable alternatives, much less a guy the current regime had taken in the top ten.
Darnold played well, but not well enough to Wally Pipp JJMC.
Agreed that ….. Sam is probably not Lou level.
Personally, I think any of the discussion on Darnold staying in Minnesota is coming from Darnold's agent. For Darnold, it means there is essentially a salary floor for him going forward. He wants teams to think there is more competition for him, so why not continue to say "but minnesota still really wants me". Every indication of Kwesi and KOC says JJmc, along with the plan that Kwesi started when he got hired here. They spent so much to get him, and especially the pick that turned into Dallas Turner was essentially there in case they needed to trade up for a rookie qb.
I would be willing to get a Matthew Coller Tattoo if the vikings sign darnold to a contract over 100 mil this offseason
And I think the Vikings are in on the act, too. Maybe just to drive up his value for the comp pick formula or for Sam's benefit--I can believe KOC and Kwesi would do that for Sam-- but it's all bs like you say. NFL "insider" equals "agent and team mouthpiece."
Peter King always called this time of year the silly season. But I got a fevah. And the only prescription....is more JJ McCarthy. Multiple writers, Mathew included, said JJ's mechanics and such improved a lot just during the spring and summer camp. He may not have physically practiced but he knows the offense now and he's had a year learning how to be a pro and study tape. 14 wins next year is not realistic but playoffs are. As was alluded before they're "all in" now and taking that Darnold money and investing it in filling holes and creating depth as best to make the entire team better is the smarter move.
I love the offseason but I hate the off-season. Ugh.
Also, I’ve mentioned this a few times here in the past, but for me redemption arcs are the coolest part of watching sports. We got like 90% of the way there with Darnold last year and it sucked to have that end on such a sour note. I love McCarthy already and want to see him play as much as the next guy, but the sports watching payoff on another Darnold year that actually went deep into the playoffs would be about as good as it gets.
Not surprised on the lack of a tag and trade. They were not going to send him somewhere he really didn’t want to go for a slight upgrade to the comp pick they’d get. At that point, you probably were down to only a couple of teams (LV and PIT?). I will be very surprised if he has to settle for 30m or less on the open market. At that point, it would not be crazy at all to see him back in purple for another year. I’d rather take 25m for one more year in MN and hit the open market again than take 30m per year on a multi year deal somewhere else.
I really respect your takes; I agree and disagree with you on this. First, agree that the Darnold story and Vikings season overall was wonderful. Agree that the no tag wasn't a surprise and that only a couple teams are in play. Dan Graziano of ESPN pointed out on The Athletic Football show how difficult the situation was for the Vikings given how unsettled the QB market was. Disagree on the Vikings sending him to a team "he didn't want to go" because it wasn't their choice. Thank you Ben Goessling for finally pointing out that Sam effectively had a no-trade clause this whole time given no team would do a tag and trade with the Vikings unless they knew he would sign a long-term deal with them. And only a fool would pay Sam more than $40M for a single season. So it was Sam's choice all along. (Phil Mackey saying "Call Sam's bluff!" What bluff, Phil? It was the other way around.) Last, I don't know why he'd take $25M to come back here for a single season when--like you said--he should get $30M+ and far more guaranteed money now from another team. And there's a good chance he sits most of the year if JJ continues the arc he was on before the injury so I'm not sure how Sam's value goes up in that scenario. Never say never, but I think it's one in a hundred he's back.
Totally agree that there were probably a decent number of teams that Darnold simply wouldn’t sign an extension with. But I don’t think the Vikes would do that to him even if that wasn’t a factor. I also just don’t think they’d ship him off to his second or third choice for a small bump in compensation. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes. Everybody is saying they don’t want him, but I don’t buy it.
That's an excellent point. You're right, I don't think they'd do that to him either. Which makes me like them more. I know some fans on The Athletic and elsewhere are like, "Screw Sam, he owes us." and "Screw Kwesi if doesn't play hardball." But I like that we have decent management on this team.