Sam Darnold Cannot Be 'Plan A' For Minnesota Vikings ... RIGHT!?
When fans demand that a team fire their head coach, the next question should be obvious: "And replace him with whom?" Oftentimes, the answer is simply "Anyone else." That's not exactly what happened with the Minnesota Vikings, but replacing quarterback Kirk Cousins with Sam Darnold is a potentially catastrophic disaster.
Now, not all Vikings fans wanted Cousins out. Heck, the Vikings franchise didn't want Cousins out. But, they also didn't want to engage in a bidding war with the Atlanta Falcons for an aging quarterback coming off of a major injury. So, they let Cousins walk in free agency.
However, they had to consider the alternatives when they let Cousins walk. "And replace him with whom?" For some Vikings fans, including OutKick Managing Editor Gary Schreier, that answer was literally "Anyone else."
Well, I have good news, Mr. Schreier! You got "anyone else." His name is Sam Darnold. And he … is terrible.
However, if Vikings fans are searching for beacons of hope, look no further than ESPN hot air balloon Dan Orlovsky.
Orlovsky, who frequently delivers hot takes for the sake of delivering hot takes, gave a doozy last season. He said that if Darnold replaced Brock Purdy, he could lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Purdy actually did do that while Darnold watched from the bench. Where he belongs.
The New York Jets drafted Darnold with the #3 overall pick in 2018. They gave up on him and shipped him to Carolina. That didn't work, so the 49ers signed him as a backup. Now, he is going to the Vikings – his fourth NFL team – for his seventh season.
Despite Darnold being around the league seemingly forever, he's still only 26 years old. Because of his young age and high draft capital, teams continue to view him as having "potential."
The Minnesota Vikings signed free agent QB Sam Darnold to potentially replace Kirk Cousins, which should be scary for Vikings fans.
(Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
The Vikings are like that woman who sees the career-loser who just got dumped for the tenth time and thinks to herself, "I can fix him." Several wasted years later, she asks herself, "Where did it all go wrong?"
That's where I envision the Vikings ending up after Kirk Cousins leads the Atlanta Falcons to the playoffs next season while Minnesota squanders an incredibly talented roster.
Sam Darnold continues to get NFL opportunities despite a complete lack of prior success
Darnold is completely inflated by his draft position from six years ago – certainly not from his play. He's never put together anything resembling a good on-field resume.
He’s thrown nearly as many interceptions (56) as touchdown passes (63). His career completion percentage is below 60%. He's started 56 NFL games, winning just 21 of them.
It's not that the Vikings view Sam Darnold as the future. At least, I hope not. They probably see him as a suitable bridge to their next quarterback. Who is that going to be, though? The Vikings played well last season despite Cousins going down with an injury.
That's the good news. The bad news is that it takes them out of the running for any of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Darnold stinks, but the Vikings roster, as mentioned, is quite talented. They nearly made the playoffs despite running Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens out at quarterback.
Even if Darnold plays like … well, like Sam Darnold … they're not going to be the worst team in the NFL. So, who's next?
The answer for many fans is "thankfully, not Kirk Cousins."
To which I would respond: "Be careful what you wish for."