The Minnesota Vikings face one of the toughest quarterback decisions of any team this offseason. However, if the team wants to continue to be a Super Bowl contender in the coming seasons, the right decision is to stick with Sam Darnold over J.J. McCarthy .
Darnold had his worst game with Minnesota in the 27-9 wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. On top of being pressured constantly and taking nine sacks, Darnold completed 25-of-40 passes for 245 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a lost fumble. It was one of the worst efficiency games from any quarterback this season, generating -23 total EPA and -0.42 EPA per dropback, according to RBSDM .
The performance is likely to crush Darnold’s market value. However, from the Vikings’ perspective, they shouldn’t let this performance get in the way of bringing the journeyman quarterback back to Minnesota and start looking for trade partners for McCarthy
Sam Darnold’s Prove-It Year
For a quarterback who had been patiently waiting for his breakout opportunity, Darnold finally got to prove what he’s capable of in 2024…