Were the Vikings close to signing Darnold?

"Dang, dude, $27.5...it's a good number." haha. Darnold's face during that convo was hilarious, especially when he said he wasn't going to share after Will caught him off guard by calling out the number apparently...or close to.

Kwesi was in over his head and chit the bed.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think most of us assumed the Vikings offer to Darnold was a token offer so they could move on with their youngster, but if $27.5 is accurate that's fairly competitive. The big difference was the term, with the Vikings uninterested in a multi-year deal for obvious reasons. Looking back, Seattle got a bargainView embedded content

$27.5 is not remotely competitive. Its half the guaranteed money Seattle offered.

medaille wrote:

$27.5 is not remotely competitive. Its half the guaranteed money Seattle offered.

$27.5M is not remotely close to $33M? If it's accurate, it's a lot more than the trivial $20M most were throwing around at the time. What's more, we don't have a clue what bonuses and guarantees were in the Vikings offer. The term was the biggest factor. Still, I'm fairly certain the Vikings knew he was going to get a multi-year offer on the market and they were fine not matching that.

I guess I dont see this as BIG news?

Vikings weren't going to commit to a marriage when they just drafted a QB the highest in their history.

I believe Darnold is on the books this year in that $47mm range? No way Vikes were doing that.

At the time the number I heard was 25. But 90% of the fanbase was on board after his last two games. It was viewed as sort of a courtesy offer and clearly they wanted to run with JJM. All that's left now is chest thumping hindsight and the campaign to cover KOC's tracks lol.

MaroonBells wrote:

$27.5M is not remotely close to $33M? If it's accurate, it's a lot more than the trivial $20M most were throwing around at the time. What's more, we don't have a clue what bonuses and guarantees were in the Vikings offer. The term was the biggest factor. Still, I'm fairly certain the Vikings knew he was going to get a multi-year offer on the market and they were fine not matching that.

The Vikings offered him a $27.5M check and a young stud breathing down his neck.

Seattle offered him a $55M check and no competition.

NFL players don’t deal in theoretical potential earnings.  They compare the guaranteed money that will hit their bank account.  The Vikings offer was half as good as Seattle’s, not including the JJM factor.

purplefaithful wrote:

I guess I dont see this as BIG news?
Vikings weren't going to commit to a marriage when they just drafted a QB the highest in their history.
I believe Darnold is on the books this year in that $47mm range? No way Vikes were doing that.

Let's not forget that Darnold would have been awful with our dumpster fire of an o-line. Darnold was managed heavily in Seattle. The OC was very run heavy, keeping the load off him. And with their defense, they took no risks. Look at the game against us. Without an offensive threat on our side, we sacked him 5 times. Seattle just went into a shell and pounded the rock because they knew we were not a threat.

purplefaithful wrote:

I guess I dont see this as BIG news?
Vikings weren't going to commit to a marriage when they just drafted a QB the highest in their history.
I believe Darnold is on the books this year in that $47mm range? No way Vikes were doing that.

It's not big news; it's not even news. We don't even know if it's accurate. Still, IF it's accurate, it's quite a bit more than the numbers many in the media were throwing around at the time. And it's a number Darnold "may" have been willing to consider depending on how much he wanted to continue playing in "QB heaven." But like I said, the Vikings were never going to compete among the multi-year offers given they had just drafted their ostensible QBOTF, and I think they knew full well he was going to get a multi-year offer.

It's interesting to think about what might have been had Darnold accepted our offer. It's possible, if not likely, he would've had another very good season and perhaps parlayed that one-year deal into a much bigger, even longer term contract with the Vikings this offseason. The ring is nice too, but who's to say he would not have gotten that with the Vikings.

Lets just hope McCarthy pans-out...That would be a heaping of salt in the wound if he doesnt, on top of seeing Darnold win a ring elsewhere.

Teasley is the interesting new force in the universe. He has NO attachments to Murray or JJ (that I'm aware of.) It's a unique situation in that regard - and hard to predict an outcome.

purplefaithful wrote:

Lets just hope McCarthy pans-out...That would be a heaping of salt in the wound if he doesnt, on top of seeing Darnold win a ring elsewhere.
Teasley is the interesting new force in the universe. He has NO attachments to Murray or JJ (that I'm aware of.) It's a unique situation in that regard - and hard to predict an outcome.

Brad Johnson would have won a ring with that defense in Seattle. Murray isn't a Brad Johnson type. He won't be that guy to come in and do it for the Vikings.

Canthony wrote:

Brad Johnson would have won a ring with that defense in Seattle.

It was very Flacco esque...Sea was a great place for Darnold to go in hindsight

purplefaithful wrote:

Lets just hope McCarthy pans-out...That would be a heaping of salt in the wound if he doesnt, on top of seeing Darnold win a ring elsewhere.
Teasley is the interesting new force in the universe. He has NO attachments to Murray or JJ (that I'm aware of.) It's a unique situation in that regard - and hard to predict an outcome.

Canthony wrote:

Brad Johnson would have won a ring with that defense in Seattle. Murray isn't a Brad Johnson type. He won't be that guy to come in and do it for the Vikings.

Yeah, I feel like I’m pretty much past last year, past the decision.  I like JJMs potential still, but I don’t think more bad play makes me feel worse about the decision that was already made.  I don’t think that Darnold on this team was a SB contender anyway with the way the season played out injury-wise, and KOC’s struggle to make his offense multiple.  That said, if there ever was a year where the SB was for the taking, last year was it. 

Regarding Murray, the thing I’m most interested in seeing is if KOC makes an offense that plays to Murray’s skillset or whether he tries to force-fit Murray to play the KOC style offense that very clearly doesn’t suit him.  And will we run the ball effectively with intention, or will it continue to be an afterthought.

medaille wrote:

Yeah, I feel like I’m pretty much past last year, past the decision.  I like JJMs potential still, but I don’t think more bad play makes me feel worse about the decision that was already made.  I don’t think that Darnold on this team was a SB contender anyway with the way the season played out injury-wise, and KOC’s struggle to make his offense multiple.  That said, if there ever was a year where the SB was for the taking, last year was it. 
Regarding Murray, the thing I’m most interested in seeing is if KOC makes an offense that plays to Murray’s skillset or whether he tries to force-fit Murray to play the KOC style offense that very clearly doesn’t suit him.  And will we run the ball effectively with intention, or will it continue to be an afterthought.

Frank Smith was brought in to have a more efficient run game I think. Not sure you would bring him in if that wasn't the intention. I think we really get better in that area. To be honest, that will help JJs game the most as well.

purplefaithful wrote:

It was very Flacco esque...Sea was a great place for Darnold to go in hindsight

No doubt. It was a perfect situation for Darnold.

Vikings didn't make a competitive offer AND Uncle Sammy was excited about Seattle and not having to compete with a top 10 draft choice that he knew Minnesota was going to give a chance. Seattle guaranteed Sam $55 million dollars and a 3-year contract....and a $32 million signing bonus. Minnesota wasn't close to that zip code. Its hilarious KAM thought Darnold would be interested in a one year offer for $27+ mill.....because of the Juicy Lucys at Matt's Bar??

Uncle Sammy got a better deal on a better team: period. Might win another this year if they can beat the Rams. Meanwhile, in Eagan, the X fanboys are arguing about who's got the worst leg whip in their throwing motions and who's farts stink worse. 🙄

According to Darnold, the Vikings were never really close to signing him. Money and the Vikings first round pick pushing for playing time.

"Shortly into negotiations, it was like, ‘alright this isn’t gonna be the spot’.”

https://purpleptsd.com/2026/vikings/top_news/sam-darnold-talks-vikings-2024-exit/

NorseFeathers wrote:

According to Darnold, the Vikings were never really close to signing him. Money and the Vikings first round pick pushing for playing time.
"Shortly into negotiations, it was like, ‘alright this isn’t gonna be the spot’.”
https://purpleptsd.com/2026/vikings/top_news/sam-darnold-talks-vikings-2024-exit/

I am just surprised this is still a topic. Darnold made the best choice. He won a ring. Time to move on. I am sure Darnold is perfectly fine with not being offered a contract to stay.

Canthony wrote:

Frank Smith was brought in to have a more efficient run game I think. Not sure you would bring him in if that wasn't the intention. I think we really get better in that area. To be honest, that will help JJs game the most as well.

I don’t doubt that we intend to get better at running the ball and/or incorporating some fresh thinking into the passing game concepts.

I’m just skeptical that when it comes time to putting theory into practice that it will happen.  It’s hard to buck your own habits and KOC habitually leans on the passing game concepts when push comes to shove.  3rd or 4th and short?  We certainly had the running game competency to achieve that, but we frequently chose to pass instead.

Like I intellectually know that I should work out more, I might even buy the equipment, but a year later it just sits there used twice.

I really hope we work on running the ball, then actually run the ball. I think this offense gets so much more dangerous as it gets more multiple.

purplefaithful wrote:

Lets just hope McCarthy pans-out...That would be a heaping of salt in the wound if he doesnt, on top of seeing Darnold win a ring elsewhere.
Teasley is the interesting new force in the universe. He has NO attachments to Murray or JJ (that I'm aware of.) It's a unique situation in that regard - and hard to predict an outcome.

I think the truly unbiased opinion of an outsider is an under-considered factor in this, and probably played a part in the decision to bring him in.