Sam Darnold Rumors: Vikings, QB Haven't Discussed New Contract At All During Season

Sam Darnold and the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 NFL season, but that reportedly hasn't led to any contract discussions between the quarterback and team.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday that Minnesota and Darnold "have not had any discussions regarding a long-term contract," which is notable since the signal-caller is scheduled to be a free agent during the upcoming offseason.

Quarterback was a major focal point for the Vikings this offseason, especially since they didn't bring back Kirk Cousins.

It was easy to assume the NFC North team would start J.J. McCarthy when it selected the Michigan quarterback with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. After all, he just led the Wolverines to the national championship, and starting a new era during the same offseason Cousins joined the Atlanta Falcons made sense from a timeline perspective.

If nothing else, 2024 could have been a year where the franchise reshifted with a focus on McCarthy's future.

Yet McCarthy was lost for the season to a knee injury before it even started, which meant Minnesota had to turn to the veteran Darnold in a starting role instead of a backup one.

Such roles hadn't exactly worked out for him in the past. The No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft went a combined 21-35 during 56 starts for the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers during the first six years of his career.

Most of those starts came with the Jets when he went 13-25 and never lived up to the elevated expectations that were put on his shoulders because of his draft status.

However, Darnold has looked like a different quarterback this season and has completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 2,952 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. It helps having weapons like Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, but nobody could have realistically expected this coming into the season.

It has put the Vikings into something of a tricky situation, as they likely want to see if McCarthy can be the franchise quarterback moving into the future.

Still, Darnold has played well enough to earn a new contract and will likely be leading the way into the playoffs this season. It just remains to be seen whether that new contract with be with Minnesota or elsewhere.