After being selected by the Jets with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL draft, quarterback Sam Darnold was written off as a bust following sub-par stints in New York and Carolina. He signed a one-year, $10 million contract this offseason with the Minnesota Vikings and was presumed to serve as a bridge quarterback to 2024 No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy.
When McCarthy tore his meniscus in the preseason, however, Darnold was thrust into action as their permanent starter—and has had quite the career resurgence for himself. The 27-year-old has thrown for career highs in passing yards (3,299) and touchdowns (28) over the Vikings’ first 13 games while leading them to an 11–2 record.
While a good problem to have, the Vikings now have some questions to answer surrounding the quarterback position. Will they re-sign Darnold this offseason? Has he done enough to warrant waiting on McCarthy? Who’s their quarterback franchise quarterback?
“You’d have to ask Sam that,” Phillips responded when asked about his quarterback’s long-term goals. “In my mind, I would hope he would kind of say, ‘Hey, the body of work that I’ve put in so far is going to take care of the future, so really all I need to worry about is right now.'”
He continued, “I think we all know that Sam is gonna be a sought after type of guy, from wherever that may be. Whatever his future ends up being is—I know all of us in this building are gonna be happy for him no matter where that ends up being. I don’t think he has to worry about that anymore. I think the worry might have been, ‘Okay this is my opportunity to play.’ He’s passed all that. He’s proven the doubters [wrong] and he’s proven that he can play in this league.”
Darnold and the Vikings welcome the Chicago Bears to Minnesota this coming Monday night for an 8 p.m. EST kickoff from U.S. Bank Stadium.
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