Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Backtracks on Sam Darnold’s Return

Riding the high of winning the NFL’s Coach of the Year award, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was loose with his words when speaking on pending free agent Sam Darnold. “Our goal is to win a championship, and Sam Darnold is going to be a huge part of it when we do it,” O’Connell said Feb. 6 in his news conference after the award show, per the Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett. “Sure sounds like Vikings want to ride with Darnold next year,” Birkett said in reaction to O’Connell’s comments. Birkett’s reaction caused a stir on social media as fans flocked for more information. Asked about that comment, O’Connell provided clarification and confirmed that there has yet to be a decision made on Darnold’s future in Minnesota.

“I don’t necessarily think that 100 percent accurate,” he said, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “It was in the spirit of answering a question about Sam’s season and what he was able to do this year. And then the follow-up in regards to what it’s going to take to win a championship. “Look, you guys know how I feel about Sam. He is a guy that we identified last year as somebody who could come in and be successful. … It was about maximizing our time together. I think we did that, and I think it was a very special year for Sam. And what that earned him is, everybody in our league now thinks he’s a bona fide legitimate starting quarterback in our league and can win a lot of football games.”

O’Connell added that Darnold has earned the right to explore offers in free agency but the Vikings will continue to hold contract talks with Darnold’s camp despite excitement about J.J. McCarthy’s future. “He’s earned the right to be a free agent, but we will continue to have ongoing dialogue and discussions with him and his representation as well as being really excited about J.J. McCarthy and where he’s at in his rehab. He’s really hit the ground running as the true offseason has begun,” O’Connell said.

The Vikings have several paths they can take while Darnold remains under team control until free agency in March. Minnesota can exclusively negotiate a contract extension with the 28-year-old quarterback who is coming off a 14-win Pro Bowl-caliber season. The Vikings can also franchise tag Darnold and trade him to a potential new team that would want to exclusively negotiate a long-term extension.

Or Minnesota can let Darnold walk and pursue another bridge quarterback to compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in 2025.