The Vikings couldn't afford what Darnold was asking. They had to move on. The Vikings are going to be somewhere between $30-50 million over the cap this coming season and that's without a huge QB contract on the books.
***2026 Minnesota Vikings***
- Thread starter Marcelason78
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The Vikings had the rights to slap the franchise tag on him if they wanted. Ironically, he got paid less in Seattle than the franchise tag would have paid him in Minn.
Anyway, you are correct, the Vikings spent that QB $ on a ton of free agents that did not pan out. Expect Jones and Hockensen to take huge pay cuts or be released. They wont have any $ to work with this year, which means they will have to rely on a good draft (lol Kwesi).
If they didn't want to pay what he was asking, why would they franchise tag him and pay him more?
Franchise tag was cheaper at the time. Seattle got a bargain.
Still amazes me that Dak Prescott is getting $60 Mill a year.
They could have used the franchise tag on Darnold - if they had really wanted to keep him. The truth is, they didn't. They wanted to give McCarthy the job - and made that clear to both Darnold and Jones. So, both left.
Coaches and GM's get fired for this level of incompetence. If the Vikes don't win a lot of games next year, and a playoff game - both should be fired.
Because that's a 1 year deal. If he sucks, you let him walk. Costs you nothing except that 1 year salary. No bonuses, or dead cap space.
For $40M? Where are they getting that money from?
The other issue is the side of "doing right by Darnold", who actually left MIN because he wanted a long-term deal. He wouldn't likely want to have been tagged, either. MIN did offer him another short deal.
They spent a fortune last year on free agents. They just didn't pan out.
The NFL is a business. You do what is best for your franchise. Pretty sure Sam would have showed up and played with a 41 million dollar salary last year.
They lowballed him because they wanted to give the job to McCarthy - knowing he would turn it down. Just like they did with the offer to Jones.
Kwesi has already proven his incompetence. We'll see how KOC does in 2026... but you are correct, he is on a very short leash.
They couldn't afford to offer more. They would have had to completely remake the roster to resign Darnold.
Especially when you consider he's done that with a GM that has been pretty poor in the draft during that time. Would love to see KOC coach a team with young talent being brought in consistently.
Plenty of those FA's worked out fine. Not all, nobody bats 1.000, but it's not like they went 0-fer on signings. They would've had to pass on a ton of these guys to make up that franchise tag money.
Darnold wasn't lowballed at all, according to rumors. He was offered similar money for another year, but he wanted a longer-term contract. MIN didn't want a longer-term contract 'cuz they drafted a QB the year before. That's why he took 3 years from Seattle. Jones just didn't want to compete for QB1 and went to place where he was basically guaranteed the job (still only on a cheap, one-year deal).
Ultimately, both of these guys left because MIN drafted a QB of the future. That was the root cause. The org and fanbase had been waiting a really, really long time for that to happen.
I have some reservations about him, which were made even more blunt watching this season with JJM... but he does still win a lot of games overall (rather, the combo of him and Flores does).
The Vikings are in a position for a partial overhaul. There are a lot of high priced guys they are going to have to let go.
For the record, I do like KOC.... he can only do with the players what he's been handed. That being said, if he's influential in the draft room and free agent room, he does need to be held accountable for some of it. They do have some talent at some positions, so it's not all bad. They HAVE to get someone to get the ball to Jefferson. So far Jefferson has been very cooperative, but how much longer will he stay that way?
For the record, I do like KOC.... he can only do with the players what he's been handed. That being said, if he's influential in the draft room and free agent room, he does need to be held accountable for some of it. They do have some talent at some positions, so it's not all bad. They HAVE to get someone to get the ball to Jefferson. So far Jefferson has been very cooperative, but how much longer will he stay that way?
Considering the cap situation, a lot of restructuring of contracts this off-season needs to happen and possibly some trades of high cap players to acquire more draft picks.
I'm not that worried about Jefferson. Wide receivers don't effect W/L record that much, and certainly don't win playoff games. They just have to be solid. Having a stud is awesome, but if the rest of the offense is mediocre, they wont make a difference.
