Sam Darnold Two bad games to end the season didn’t torpedo his chance at a big payday … at least that’s what NFL super-agents are all about. Leigh Steinberg Thinks – telling TMZ Sports He believes the Minnesota Vikings will stick with him as the franchise quarterback.
Darnold — the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 — had a career resurgence in the 2024-25 campaign … throwing for more than 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns as he led the Vikes to a 14-3 record.
His hot streak slipped, with the team’s Super Bowl dreams over after a poor outing against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round on Monday.
All that being said, Steinberg believes the organization will look at the big picture — not just Darnold’s last two games — and ultimately decide to keep No. 14 under center, despite being a first-round pick. JJ McCarthy On the roster.
“I think so at the end of the day,” Steinberg says, “because if you take his entire body of work, it played so well and he was every franchise quarterback — he lit it up during the season.”
Steinberg — the real-life inspiration for the movie “Jerry Maguire” — said the Vikes couldn’t be more thrilled with how Darnold performed in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions and in Monday’s 27-9 loss. .. But they feel that doesn’t reflect what he’s capable of on the gridiron.
If Minnesota does the same, that would be a nice raise for Darnold… since he was on a one-year, $10 million deal before his overall stellar 2024 season.
Steinberg’s estimation is highly educated – after all, he has repeated big names such as Patrick Mahomes, Troy Aikman And Steve Young … So he knows the NFL inside and out.
Steinberg also talked to us about him the foundationwhich was created to help with awareness, prevention and treatment of injuries … and shared an incredibly exciting development in the field.
