Sam Darnold says he “totally understands” Minnesota’s decision to move on from him after the Vikings chose J.J. McCarthy and built a quarterback plan around rookies—while Darnold points to business logic and the chance the team gets to pay for veteran help on
Sam Darnold didn’t sound bitter about Minnesota moving on from him. He sounded, instead, like a quarterback who understands how cold the business can be—even when the memories are still warm.
In a recent appearance on The San Clemente Podcast. the Seahawks quarterback. who won the Super Bowl in his first season in Seattle. said he “totally understands” why the Vikings chose to go with a younger quarterback on a rookie deal. Darnold tied it directly to roster-building math: signing veteran players the team can “maybe pay a little bit more” for while the rookie starter is on lower-cost terms. He also insisted he believes J.J. McCarthy “is a good player” and that he “is going to be a really good player in this league.”.
Darnold’s point wasn’t just that the Vikings made a football decision. It was that they framed it as a business one. too—one where the team could still tell him. after a 14-3 season as their starter. that he’d had a great year while ultimately moving in a different direction for the quarterback position.
The timing of Minnesota’s choice was impossible to separate from what happened when games tightened. Darnold’s Week 18, winner-take-all performance at Detroit raised questions about whether he could deliver in the biggest moments. The wider picture that followed didn’t soften the decision. The wild-card loss eight days later was described as a “total-team failure. ” with special emphasis on the offensive side of the ball. For a franchise trying to balance loyalty with results, that combination tends to turn every offseason conversation into a referendum.
There was also the contract reality, and it didn’t paint Darnold as an expensive problem. His three-year. $100.5 million deal with Seattle included a one-year out. and his base package of $37.5 million was paid in his first season. This year, Darnold is making $27.5 million—well below the current market rate.
He added, plainly, that the Vikings “could have found a way to keep him, if they wanted,” even if the path wouldn’t match the direction Minnesota had already set for itself.
Minnesota’s move was not a mystery. The Vikings traded up from No. 11 to No. 10 to draft McCarthy, which left them needing to evaluate the rookie. But they also needed the kind of cover that only comes with a veteran who has starting experience—especially because the risks are always the same. McCarthy was injured, and Darnold’s struggles were part of what shaped the verdict on the quarterback plan.
That’s where the stakes turned sharper: the 2025 Vikings season collapsed, and it played a role in the decision to fire general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The quarterback churn didn’t stop with Darnold. Minnesota tried to keep Daniel Jones, but Jones didn’t think he would win the starting job. Jones instead went to the Colts, where he was more confident he’d become QB1—and did.
This year, the Vikings landed another alternative in Kyler Murray, described as a “massive bargain” as the McCarthy alternative. The coming season will answer questions that are already written into the organization’s decisions. Will Minnesota keep Murray, who negotiated a no-tag clause for 2027?. Will McCarthy step up and secure the long-term job?. Will the Vikings be starting over again at the position?.
Even with all the struggles at the most important spot on the field. Minnesota didn’t fall out of the postseason race early. The Vikings nearly won enough games to get to the postseason. and the idea is that they won’t need a total reinvention to cross that line. The franchise problem is bigger than one playoff trip. The Vikings haven’t won a playoff game since 2019, and coach Kevin O’Connell is 0-2 in the postseason.
Through 16 games of the 2024 season, the Vikings rode high. Then the fall came hard. Now, with the next season approaching, the critical requirement isn’t just getting back. It’s turning things around—and sustaining it into the next one.
Sam Darnold Minnesota Vikings J.J. McCarthy Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Kyler Murray Daniel Jones Detroit Week 18 Seahawks quarterback