Kevin O'Connell: Sam Darnold has earned the right to be a free agent, we'll keep talking

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has offered a hint that his team will let quarterback Sam Darnold test free agency, rather than franchise tag him.

Shortly after winning the NFL's coach of the year award, O'Connell told reporters that Darnold, who played for the Vikings on a one-year contract last season, has earned the right to be a free agent.

"Look, you guys know how I feel about Sam," O'Connell said, via ESPN. "He is a guy that we identified last year as somebody who could come in and be successful. And really no matter where he was at before he arrived in his quarterback journey, it was about maximizing our time together. And I think we did that, and I think it was a very special year for Sam. And what that earned him is, everybody in our league now thinks he's a bona fide legitimate starting quarterback and can win a lot of football games. He won 14 of them [in 2024]. So he's earned the right to be a free agent, but we will continue to have ongoing dialogue and discussions with him and his representation."

If the Vikings wanted to prevent Darnold from leaving in free agency, they could put the franchise tag on him. But the franchise tag comes with a guaranteed salary that is expected to be a little over $40 million for quarterbacks in 2025, and the Vikings may simply think Darnold isn't worth that much.

Given that the Vikings spent a first-round pick on J.J. McCarthy last year, they may also just think it's time to move onto their quarterback of the future. Darnold played better than most people expected for the Vikings, but back-to-back rough games in losses in the regular-season finale and the wild card playoffs may have led the Vikings to conclude that Darnold has already taken them as far as he can take them, that McCarthy is the quarterback who can take them even further, and that Darnold will be playing elsewhere in 2025.