This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins wound up ending their relationship after six seasons together.
Cousins was able to land a lucrative, multi-year contract from the Atlanta Falcons, and now, the Vikings have to figure out what’s next for the quarterback position.
Shortly after Cousins joined the Falcons, Minnesota ended up agreeing to a one-year contract with free-agent quarterback Sam Darnold.
Most view Darnold as a bridge quarterback at best for the Vikings, and the Ross Tucker Podcast’s Joe Dolan recently shared why the team going with their new signal-caller as their longtime starter would not be a good idea (via Ross Tucker Podcast on Twitter).
“Not only [has Sam Darnold thrown] a lot of interceptions, but he’s also [thrown] a low number of catchable passes. So, that is bad news for Justin Jefferson.”
“This is bad news for Justin Jefferson…Darnold ranks 35th out of 38 in catchable throw rate and 37th out of 38 in turnover worthy throw rate over the last three years.” pic.twitter.com/SmJ35DDgYD
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) March 22, 2024
If Darnold was brought in by Minnesota to be Cousins’ replacement as the team’s full-time starting quarterback, then yes, that probably would be bad news for Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
But based on the fact that Minnesota only signed Darnold to a one-year contract worth around $10 million, they’re not really showing much commitment to him as someone who can come in and take over as their longtime starting quarterback.
There have been plenty of examples in the past of teams signing veteran signal-callers in free agency and then using one of their top picks to select a quarterback in the NFL Draft a few weeks later.
This just seems like another example of that, as many expect the Vikings to use a top selection on a young passer in this year’s draft and potentially roll into the 2024 season with a rookie as their new starting quarterback.
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