Sam Darnold

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes that teams he spoken to recently “forecasted” Sam Darnold in the “Geno Smith/Baker Mayfield weight class of contracts.”

Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million deal with the Buccaneers last offseason, while Geno Smith signed a three-year, $75 million contract prior to the 2023 season. While watching Darnold destruct against the Rams last night was horrifying, he definitely waltzes into the offseason as the best quarterback available in free agency. If the Vikings can retain him on a contract similar to Mayfield’s, perhaps one that only carries some guarantees in 2026 as the team figures out what the J.J. McCarthy looks like, that’d probably be better for the organization than relying purely on a quarterback who couldn’t practice with the team all season because of injury.