Things were not looking up for the Las Vegas Raiders with regards to their massive roster hole at the quarterback position, but a lot can change in a matter of days.
At one point late in the regular season, the Raiders held the inside track to the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft and a restart with a franchise QB on a rookie contract. However, a couple of meaningless victories and a subsequent drop to the 6th overall selection took that option off the table.
But after the calamitous events surrounding Monday night's matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams, a new pathway has cleared for the Raiders to acquire a legitimate starter.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Vikings QB Sam Darnold probably cost himself millions over the past couple of weeks via poor showings against the Detroit Lions in a Week 18 game for a bye and the NFC's top seed and on Super Wild Card Weekend in a blowout playoff loss to the Rams. But that doesn't negate the fact that Darnold still threw for north of 4,300 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in by far the best campaign of his career.
He is also just 27 years old and while his bad play in the biggest spots is reason for concern, the fact that it made him vastly more affordable can't be ignored. Spotrac projected Darnold's market value at nearly $55 million annually on a new four-year contract just two weeks ago. That projections has dipped to $40 million per season as of Tuesday.
And while that's still a great deal of money, it's almost exactly 66.7% of the annual salary that the league's highest paid QB -- Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys -- earned on his latest extension. With the cap going up, Darnold could prove a bargain if he can return to playing the way he did for much of this season under Kevin O'Connell.
Darnold remains, by far, the best free agent option if Minnesota doesn't extend him, and NFL insiders like ESPN's Dan Graziano are urging the Vikings to use the QB's late-year struggles as an "off-ramp" to transition to injured rookie J.J. McCarthy.
Vinny Iyer of The Sporting News linked the Raiders to Darnold as one of the "best fits" for him on Monday night, and if Las Vegas is serious about taking a swing at QB this offseason, Darnold arguably represents the franchise's best shot at a home run.
