Sam Darnold Expected to Leave Vikings, Switch Conferences for $120 Million

pears less likely that the Minnesota Vikings will retain quarterback Sam Darnold.

On Tuesday, February 18, Alex Kay of Bleacher Report predicted that the Vikings will let Darnold walk in free agency, and that he will ultimately sign a three-year, $120 million contract on the open market.

“The Las Vegas Raiders have both the money to burn and a renewed desire to win after some organizational changes,” Kay wrote. “Given the weak crop of quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class … Darnold makes perfect sense for a Raiders squad looking to win now.”

Why the Raiders are rushing to win in 2025 after going 4-13 last season and subsequently firing their head coach and general manager is a question worth an article of its own. But that Las Vegas appears headed in that direction is relevant in Minnesota both for Darnold’s prospects and potentially for a change of course in the front office.

Minnesota can use its franchise tag to keep Darnold and attempt to trade him before he actually signs the deal, which would cost the Vikings around $40 million next season. Given that there aren’t many elite-level NFL quarterbacks available in the coming draft — perhaps even none — and that the free agency market is slim, the Vikings could potentially stack a couple of mid-round picks by holding onto Darnold’s rights before ultimately trading them to the right suitor

However, Kevin Seifert of ESPN reported Monday that Minnesota is not inclined to use the one-off tool to hang onto Darnold, but may instead employ it to keep a promising young piece in a secondary that is potentially facing almost total turnover from last season to the next.. Using the tag on quarterback Sam Darnold would be an expensive way of ensuring his return while avoiding a longer-term commitment that would hinder J.J. McCarthy’s eventual ascension,” Seifert wrote. “It could also be a way to elicit additional value by way of a trade, but that would require a knowledge that multiple teams would be willing to bid. In the end, the Vikings seem more likely to let Darnold sign elsewhere and preserve their tag for a player such as cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., who had a career-high six interceptions in 2024 and is hitting his prime at age 27.”