Minnesota

Vikings

The Raiders were reportedly ready to offer Matthew Stafford “a two-year deal for around $90-100 million” if Stafford wanted out of Los Angeles, and if the Rams were willing to accept a second-round pick in exchange, but Stafford chose to stay put. While Brady and Spytek obviously call the shots, it is worth noting that “there are members of the Raiders’ offensive coaching staff who prefer adding a proven veteran quarterback to taking a dice roll on a rookie quarterback.” The Raiders’ new leadership group failed to achieve its number one offseason goal, securing Stafford, and must now work through their first organizational obstacle. The results of the new quarterback search will have a lasting impact on the current group’s tenure.

Raanan notes that the Giants “had interest in Darnold last offseason” but that he was “too expensive for what they were looking for.” Though the Giants likely prefer Darnold to Wilson and Rodgers, Darnold will command a far higher salary this season, having produced a career-best 100.8 NFL passer rating with the Vikings in 2024.

Krammer, appearing on a podcast, went on to explain that the Vikings do not plan on tagging him because “they do not intend to keep him on the tag, and trading him on the tag proves to be pretty difficult.” Krammer notes that the 2019 Chiefs are the most recent team to successfully execute a trade-and-tag scenario, one where they sent linebacker Dee Ford to the 49ers in exchange for a second-round draft pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Unless something changes, Darnold will hit free agency on March 12.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell seemed confident at the NFL Combine that McCarthy would be able to participate in the team’s offseason workouts after missing his entire rookie campaign with a knee injury. McCarthy resumed on-field training in mid-January and has continued making progress after undergoing two knee surgeries — the second one to address major swelling that had developed. McCarthy could step into Minnesota’s starting role if the team parts ways with 2024 starter Sam Darnold this offseason. The Vikings are reportedly considering using the franchise tag to keep Darnold for one more season. “Sam is in a position where the NFL thinks he can play football at a very high level,” O’Connell said. “We’ll see where it goes.”

Nearly two weeks after head coach Kevin O’Connell said Darnold “earned the right to be a free agent,” the Vikings drumbeat continues to be that the former No. 3 overall pick will have the chance to test the market when free agency kicks off next month. While he didn’t rule out the possibility of the Vikings franchise tagging Darnold, Lewis believes the decision to tag Darnold will hinge on whether another team would be willing to trade for Darnold rather than try their luck in free agency. Lewis writes that Las Vegas “presents the most interesting situation.” Darnold is due for a big payday regardless of where he lands and how.

Murphy’s contract was set to void this week, but by pushing back Murphy’s void date, he cannot be franchise-tagged. Now, the Vikings have more time to work on a new contract with him before he hits free agency next month. QB Sam Darnold’s contract is still set to be voided, meaning he can be franchise-tagged while Murphy cannot.

Seifert says that this doesn’t mean that Minnesota has ruled out placing the franchise tag on Darnold, and that they also haven’t ruled out signing him to a multi-year deal. The Vikings could pull off a tag-and-trade with Darnold if a potential destination he’s interested in wants to jump the market. This will be a situation to monitor over the coming weeks, as it sounds like the Vikings will try to gather as much intelligence as they can before making the decision on the March 4 franchise tag deadline.

Boyd said Jones would make sense as a signing who could push Anthony Richardson in training camp and fill in for him should Richardson have yet another injury-marred season in 2025. Jones’ “abilities on the ground mean the offense won’t have to change much should Richardson miss more time due to injury,” Boyd said, adding Justin Fields could be another option for a Colts team hedging their bets on Richardson. Richardson is reportedly working with a biometrics coach to hone his throwing motion ahead of the 2025 season. Without a major leap in intermediate accuracy, Richardson could lose out to Jones after being benched for Joe Flacco in 2024.

Jones also interviewed with the Jaguars and Bears this offseason after serving as the pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Vikings for the previous three seasons. The 2024 version of the Minnesota defense held opponents to 6.5 yards per pass attempt, ranking 11th in the league, while also leading the league with 24 interceptions. Jones was first linked to the Saints on Thursday.