Vikings to sign QB Sam Darnold as replacement to Kirk Cousins
Sam Darnold #14 of the San Francisco 49ers signals during a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi's Stadium on August 25, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. ((Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings are not wasting any time to find their replacement for Kirk Cousins.
Well, at least for the 2024 season. According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Peliserro with NFL Network, the Vikings are expected to sign Sam Darnold to a 1-year, $10 million deal when NFL free agency opens Wednesday afternoon.
Just hours after the negotiating window opened on Monday, Cousins agreed to a four-year, $180 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons with $100 million guaranteed. The Vikings were never going to pay that kind of money, over four years, to a 35-year-old quarterback coming off a torn Achilles. The Cousins’ era in Minnesota ends after six seasons, and one playoff win.
The Vikings and Darnold reached an agreement late Monday night, as he was also exploring the Denver Broncos after Russell Wilson's release. Darnold passed for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception last season with the San Francisco 49ers as the back-up to Brock Purdy. Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick out of USC in 2018 to the New York Jets.
He started 38 games over three seasons in New York, throwing for more than 8,000 yards, 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions while 13-25 as the starter. He then spent two years with the Carolina Panthers, going 8-9 as a starter with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
He’s 21-35 for his career as a starter. Darnold is also reunited with Josh McCown, as the two were teammates with the Jets in 2018. McCown is now the Vikings' quarterbacks coach. That room now includes Darnold, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall.
The plan from the outside seems fairly obvious with the Darnold signing. The Vikings seem likely to play him for one season, while also having the No. 11 pick in this year’s NFL Draft to try and find their next franchise quarterback. The consensus top-three quarterbacks in the draft are Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. J.J. McCarthy also opened some eyes at the NFL Combine.
The Bears and Commanders are both expected to take quarterbacks No. 1 and 2 overall, and the Patriots traded Mac Jones last week, fueling speculation they’ll draft a quarterback No. 3 overall. That means if the Vikings want a top-tier quarterback after Darnold, they likely have to move up from No. 11.
They could also hope that Darnold does in 2024 what Baker Mayfield did with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. Mayfield threw for more than 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions to lead Tampa to the NFC South Division title. He also beat the Vikings Week 1. Mayfield could've tested the free agent market, but returned to the Buccaneers on a deal worth $115 million.
In any case, Cousins is gone and Darnold is now the No. 1 quarterback in Minnesota.