Report: Sam Darnold Unlikely to Get Vikings Franchise Tag; Contract Talks to Continue

If Sam Darnold is going to remain with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2025 season, it reportedly won't be on the franchise tag.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Monday that Minnesota is unlikely to use the tag on the quarterback before the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Tuesday. 

Both reports suggested there is interest in bringing him back without the use of the tag.

Darnold is one of the most intriguing situations of the entire offseason. He is coming off a career year, had generally struggled for the rest of his time in the NFL prior to joining the Vikings for the 2024 season and also had issues in his most recent two games when the stakes were at their highest.

What's more, Minnesota used the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft on J.J. McCarthy and surely wants to see what he is capable of after he missed his rookie season with injury.

Had the Vikings used the franchise tag on Darnold, he could have remained as a one-year bridge quarterback until McCarthy was perhaps ready to take over as the long-term face of the franchise.

Alas, the team reportedly chose a different direction and now runs the risk of losing the veteran to another team in free agency for nothing in return.

Darnold was largely excellent for the Vikings in 2024 and completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. However, he went 18-of-41 and failed to lead a single touchdown drive in a loss to the Detroit Lions in the regular-season finale that decided the NFC's No. 1 seed.

He was then sacked nine times in a 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Round, ending what was a career-best season on quite the sour note.

The closing stretch of the season may eventually cost Darnold some money in free agency, but he still looked like a much better version of himself than the one who went a combined 21-35 as a starter for the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.

Prior to the 2024 season, he was largely known as the quarterback who failed to live up to expectations as the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft. 

Darnold's performance on the Vikings helped change the narrative surrounding him, and perhaps there is a long-term contract waiting as a reward since the team reportedly will not be using the franchise tag on him this offseason.