Vikings Urged to Weigh Trade for $160 Million Champ, Replacement for Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold had his worst statistical game of the 2024 season in the Minnesota Vikings’ 23-17 victory over the New York Jets in Week 5.

He completed 45.2% of his passes for 179 yards and 1 interception.

Darnold failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 2024. The question for Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell is whether or not that was an aberration or if the Jets exposed some persistent flaws in Darnold’s game.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio believes the Vikings would be wise to explore a trade for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford if Darnold continues to falter.

“The Rams quarterback quite possibly is in his last season with the team, regardless of whether the Rams can reverse a 1-4 start. If the Rams might parlay the remainder of his 2024 contract into draft pick(s) and he could get a fresh start elsewhere, it makes sense to at least consider it,” Florio wrote on October 12.

“If, for example, the Jets provided a blueprint for making Sam Darnold look mortal, the Vikings would be wise (if they lose to the Lions and then to Stafford’s Rams) to at least entertain the possibility of an upgrade.”

This Heavy Sports Vikings trade proposal aims to land Stafford if Darnold cannot right the ship.

Vikings get:

• Matthew Stafford

Rams get:

• 2025 5th-round pick
• 2026 conditional 5th-round pick (becomes 4th with Super Bowl win)

Florio points to Carson Palmer’s 2011 trade from the Cincinnati Bengals to the then-Oakland Raiders as an example of similar deals happening.

Palmer was traded for a 2012 first-round pick and a 2013 third-rounder. However, Palmer’s 2013 trade to the Arizona Cardinals is a more fitting comparison. That deal saw the Raiders include a seventh-round pick to receive a 2013 sixth-round pick and a seventh-rounder in 2014.

The Rams acquired Stafford from the Lions in 2021 for a third-round pick that year.

LA also sent first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. But Stafford is 36 years old with two years and $49 million left on his four-year, $160 million contract after 2024.

More recently, the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers for a package including a swap of first-round picks and several mid-to-late-round picks exchanging hands. That deal and the state of the Jets is an argument against making a splash move for a star QB.

Vikings Can Make Money Work for Matthew Stafford Trade

The Vikings have $11.2 million in cap space as of October 12, per Over The Cap. They would need to create another $12.3 million in cap space to afford a trade for Stafford. They can get there by extending offensive linemen Brian O’Neill and Garrett Bradbury.

Minnesota can extend Byron Murphy instead of (or in addition to) Bradbury for more breathing room. Cutting would Darnold save $8 million.

However, the Rams would also incur a $68 million dead cap hit if they trade Stafford in-season.

Florio notes O’Connell’s connection to Stafford with the former serving as the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2020 and their Super Bowl-winning 2021 campaign. That connection could appeal to Stafford if he wanted a new situation.

That has not been the case, though he has flirted with retirement in recent seasons. Florio also points to the Rams’ three games following their Week 6 bye.

The Rams return in Week 7 to host the Raiders before the Vikings visit in Week 8.

LA will then visit the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9; two days before the November 5 trade deadline. The Raiders and Seahawks are a combined 5-6 on the season. The Vikings’ trip to LA could prove to be a double-edged sword if there were any interest in Stafford.

A Vikings win might increase the chances the Rams entertain a trade as Florio suggests. But the Vikings could elect to stay the course should they win that contest.

Kevin O’Connell ‘Proud’ of Sam Darnold After Win Over Jets

Despite Darnold’s poor showing versus the Jets in Week 5, O’Connell’s long-standing faith remains unwavering.

“What I was proud of with Sam, was it was another example of when momentum had kind of turned in many ways by our own doing, he was able to jog back out on that field walk, into the huddle, and move the team,” O’Connell told reporters on October 8. “Put the ball in the money a couple … plays there in some tough pockets, tough circumstances.

“We’re learning a lot about our team. But those moments where it hasn’t been pretty, we’ve kind of become stagnant for one too many drives there in the second half, we turn it over backed up there, what are we going to go do about it? What’s the next snap going to look like? And he dropped back and was really good on that drive for us, and I thought that was critical. And that’s what Sam’s been. That was him dealing with adversity when his team needed him and he made some plays there that gave us a better opportunity to go win that football game.”

O’Connell has espoused his belief in Darnold since the QB signed with the Vikings in free agency during the 2024 offseason. It could take significant regression for the coach to abandon his reclamation project in Darnold.

The Vikings also have rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings.

McCarthy is out for the season after suffering a torn MCL in the preseason opener. But O’Connell has already deemed him the Vikings QB of the future. It makes more sense for the Vikings to play out the slate and wait for McCarthy to return.

The Vikings can use whatever draft capital they would otherwise have to trade to LA for Stafford to build out the rest of their roster instead.