NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I didn't think you were, and I understand where you are looking at it from.

Basically, you want to protect against losing Sam and guarantee having him on the roster for next season.

Completely reasonable, and I'm not trying to convince anyone otherwise.

I'm just viewing it from the viewpoint of having a set dollar amount for what you want to spend on Sam, likely less than that transition tag would cost, and being comfortable with him on another roster in 2025. The transition tag would put him right between Carr and Mayfield on a per year, and that's solid for a one-year trade off, IMO.

Multiple seasons at that price? Well, that makes me a little uncomfortable.

The franchise tag gets him into Josh Allen/Matt Stafford territory. That's a rugged pill to swallow.

The Vikings are in the position of likely wanting to retain Sam but not for the kind of deal he will try to command, coupled with a high first round pick that they probably want to have as the starter in 2025. This may put the dollar amount they are willing to place on Darnold at somewhere near $30mil, which would be above Geno Smith money but under the transition tag. I can't see them wanting to pay Baker money when, best case scenario, he would be the backup for the majority of a multiyear deal.

If Darnold can somehow get himself a bidding war with the Giants and Raiders (I think the Titans may be taking one at the top), that would be the only way he finds himself with a better one-year dollar amount than the transition tag, IMO.

 

Enjoyed this dialog between Tim and Joe about Sam, I still dont know what in Sam hell they should do. Maybe just sign Daniel Jones... he'd be cheaper than Darnold and ready to go in case of JJ not being quite ready for prime time.

 

That's an interesting angle.

Without much thought into it - You might be able to sell me on this idea.

I'm wondering what the market for Daniel is going to look like.

Reclamation projects are something that coaches love, so he might end up with a little bit of heat from certain circles.

 

It may turn into a crap shoot. Darnold's tag might be around 40 or 42 million, a multi-year deal with an option after 1 or two years might be better, but if Jones is cheaper, they might have a Darnold part 2 sitting right under their nose.

Once again, im perplexed, lol.

 

A lot of good back and forth..

My personal opinion dives right to the bottom and the final sentence of the final quote... $35M, imho, is the upper threshold of Darnold's worth, I don't think more than a couple of GMs will be willing to go above $30M, let alone enter into the $40M stratosphere. We are just disagreeing on what I believe the league will value him at after his decline the final few games of the year and ultimately, his poor play to lose out on a) division title b) #1 seed of the NFC c) a bye, then home game advantage throughout the playoffs... Leading to... a dismal exit in the Wild Card round. Point blank, he isn't a $30M a year guy... someone will still be willing to pay him $35, just because this is the NFL. I don't believe there will be a $40M market. Personally, if the Vikings used the transition tag, I think that would be the end of it for this year. If someone did try to sneak in a $36M 1-2 year contract, Minnesota could match it.

I don't see this as disrespect in any way.. Darnold must know his market value, if he is transitioned, he will find it out rather quickly... either he is, or he isn't worth more than $35M. that would be true whether he was a free agent or transitioned.