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Sam Darnold with NFC Pro Bowl QBs.
There are many different ways the Las Vegas Raiders could choose to attack their quarterback positions this offseason. While the draft is an appealing option, there appears to be momentum building that the team will try to find their starting quarterback in free agency.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is the only free agent quarterback who could potentially be a franchise player. He’s 27 and coming off his best season as a pro. However, if the Raiders want him, they are going to have to drop some serious cash.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report believes that Las Vegas should sign Darnold on a projected three-year, $120 million contract.
“The Las Vegas Raiders have both the money to burn and a renewed desire to win after some organizational changes,” Kay wrote in a Feb. 18 column. With Tom Brady joining forces with a new group of deep-pocketed owners, the Raiders have the financial means to make a splash in free agency. The team also brought aboard a 73-year-old head coach in Pete Carroll, which suggests Vegas isn’t planning on an extended rebuild.”
That’s a steep price to pay but if Darnold plays like he did in 2024 over the next three seasons, he’d be a steal at $40 million a year.
Sam Darnold Could Be Good Fit With Chip Kelly
Had the Raiders decided to run things back with Antonio Pierce as head coach and Scott Turner as offensive coordinator, signing Darnold wouldn’t have made sense. It’s clear that the quarterback needs a strong offensive mind calling plays for him to be successful.
The Raiders hired Pete Carroll as head coach and Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator. While Carroll has a defensive background, he’s coached some very good quarterbacks and should have some level of familiarity with Darnold due to their USC ties.
Kelly has been calling plays and developing quarterbacks for over two decades. Kay pointed out that he would be a strong fit with Darnold.
“It doesn’t hurt that Las Vegas also courted Chip Kelly to run the offense,” Kay wrote. “SI.com’s Albert Breer called the potential Darnold-Kelly combination a ‘really good fit,’ a pairing that could see the 27-year-old quarterback improve upon his 66.2 percent completion rating, 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns he put up in 2024.
“Although it would likely cost the Raiders somewhere in the $40 million per year range to get Darnold’s signature, that’s a price worth paying if he instantly turned around a downtrodden squad that has suffered since Derek Carr’s departure.”
Darnold Is Not a Sure Thing
Darnold proved last season that he can at the very least be a high-end starting quarterback in the right system. However, he played very poorly in the Vikings’ two biggest games of the season.
Sure, he can play great when the lights aren’t as bright but the ultimate goal is to win playoff games, especially if a quarterback is getting paid $40 million a year. Darnold has only started in one playoff game and he didn’t play well at all.
Now, that was his first playoff game so perhaps he could still get better in tougher spots but it’s something the Raiders need to weigh before they consider signing him.
