The Minnesota Vikings going into the 2024 season are set to start quarterback Sam Darnold at quarterback. It will pave the way for the organization to be patient in J.J. McCarthy's development.
The idea is that Darnold will begin the season as the starting quarterback. By giving him $10 million for 2024, the Vikings believe that Darnold will play well in the spot surrounded by one of the best supporting casts on offense in the National Football League along with being the best he's ever had entering his seventh season.
If Darnold ends up playing well, could he end up being traded before the trade deadline? Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr believes so and he included it in his bold predictions.
The 2018 No. 3 pick of the Jets will have a short runway as the Minnesota Vikings’ starter before he gets traded before the Nov. 5 deadline to a contender that has an injured starter, paving the way for the J.J. McCarthy era to begin in Minnesota. Darnold will head back to the AFC and start in a critical late-season game against the Jets, a team that will be teetering on the brink of playoff contention. After playing well in a thrashing of the Jets, the New York Post back page headline will be GHOST STORY.
Teams Minnesota Vikings could trade Sam Darnold to
It's an interesting idea for the Vikings to trade Darnold at the trade deadline. It would mean at least one of the following occurred:
- McCarthy is ready to take over
- The Vikings season is functionally over
- Darnold played really well
There is definitely a path to a trade but in order to make a trade, you need a partner. These teams could potentially make sense if things fall the right way or more specifically, if they have quarterback issues.
New York Giants
The Giants currently have one of the murkier quarterback situations in the NFL. Daniel Jones is entering the second year of his four-year, $160 million extension along with coming off of a torn ACL. They brought in Drew Lock to push Jones but neither one has proven they are a good starting quarterback. Head coach Brian Daboll could see a changed Darnold and buy into him for the second half of the season and potentially the future as well.
San Francisco 49ers
This is the most obvious one. Darnold spent the 2023 season with the 49ers and got a start at the end of the season. This would likely be contingent on either Brock Purdy or Josh Dobbs being hurt. It would speed things up in that situation because Darnold already knows the offense. He could step in and provide stability in that stiuation.
Any team with an injured starter
There isn't a whole lot to say about this one. If a team has their starter go down for the year and they are trending toward being a Super Bowl contender, it's a move they could make. When Kirk Cousins went down, the Vikings struck a trade for Dobbs at the deadline. Is it going to win you a Super Bowl? Probably not, but it could help depending on the backup situation.
