It could be argued that Sam Darnold has cost himself a lot of money over his last two games, but one Minnesota Vikings legend says Darnold has done enough to remain the team’s starting quarterback.
Through his first 16 games, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft rewrote his history, throwing for 4,153 yards and 35 touchdowns while completing 68.1 percent of his passes. All of these numbers were, by far, career highs.
But in his last two games – one in which he could have clinched first place and the other a playoff game – he threw just one touchdown pass and 411 yards and led his offense to just 18 points.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold leaves the field after a game against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 17, 2024, in Nashville. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Darnold has looked in these last two games like what he was known for before arriving in Minnesota, and there are now calls for the team to move on to JJ McCarthy, the quarterback they selected with the 10th pick last year.
But former Vikings running back Chuck Foreman thinks Darnold did enough to remain a starter.
“The guy comes into the league, he gets drafted by a team that has no talent, he gets labeled. He goes to another team with no talent, he gets labeled more. Then he goes to San Francisco, a winning team to get behind the coach who shows him the way…and then he comes here with Kevin, and he takes them to another level,” Foreman told Outkick’s “The Ricky Cobb Show.”
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold throws a pass against the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter at US Bank Stadium. (Jeffrey Becker/Imagn Images)
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Foreman blamed both losses on Minnesota’s offensive line rather than Darnold, who he said was helpless against the Lions and Rams.
“The pressure he was under, I only see one or two other quarterbacks that could have any escape with that, and that’s Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen,” Foreman added.
“I’m signing it, I hope they can both come together in the middle. I understand the financial part, but I hope Sam understands that his career has been revived here. And he has supporters here. Make some adjustments next season, but I think he should be the guy.”
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, center right, embrace after a game on October 24, 2024, in Inglewood, California. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Darnold is a free agent after the season and is a franchise candidate. His previous highs in yards and touchdowns were 3,024 and 19, respectively, in 2019 with the team that drafted him, the New York Jets.
