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Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold.
There may not be a team in the NFL that needs a quarterback more this offseason than the Las Vegas Raiders. Gardner Minshew was the Week 1 starter and he was playing poorly before suffering a season-ending injury.
Aidan O’Connell has been better but he’s now got a bone bruise in his knee and doesn’t have much upside. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the NFL this season has been the ascendance of Sam Darnold.
The former first-round pick has bounced around the NFL in recent years and hasn’t been able to play at a high enough level to be a consistent starter. However, joining the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason was the best move he’s ever made.
He’s currently tied for third in the NFL with 28 touchdown passes and has helped the Vikings to an 11-2 record. The problem facing Minnesota is that they only gave him a one-year deal so he’ll be a free agent. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report listed the Raiders as a fit for Darnold in free agency.
“The Raiders have $112.1 million in projected 2025 cap space and could make a serious push for Darnold if they so choose,” Knox wrote in a Dec. 11 column. “They could also provide him with a pair of quality pass-catchers in Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers.
“While Las Vegas’ supporting cast isn’t as impressive as what Darnold has in Minnesota—a group headlined by Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson—it has a solid foundation and the financial flexibility to improve quickly.”
Sam Darnold Looking at $100 Million Contract?
Darnold has been in the NFL for seven years now but he’s still only 27. In fact, he’s only a year older than O’Connell, who is just in his second year. Considering that he’s young and having a breakout season, it’s possible that Darnold is going to get a massive contract in the offseason.
FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz could see him getting a contract similar to that of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
“I think it’s going to be extremely difficult for Minnesota to retain him because of the year he’s had,” Schultz said on the Dec. 7 episode of “The Herd.” “In my opinion, he’s probably going to garner somewhere along the lines of what Baker Mayfield got: Three years, $100 million, which is probably fair, considering his age. He’s still pretty young, and because of what he’s shown on tape this year.”
$100 million is a steep price to pay but Darnold has to take advantage of his value being higher than ever.
Rookie QB or Veteran?
The Raiders aren’t in a great positon to spend big money on a quarterback. The thing that’s nice about taking a quarterback in the first round is that they’d have him on a cost-effective contract for at least five years.
Las Vegas has a lot of needs beyond quarterback so it makes more sense to build around a young and cheap player. Darnold may also prefer to go to a team that is more stable considering he spent the first portion of his career playing for unstable franchises.
