REPORT: Noise For Sam Darnold to Raiders Getting Louder

The Las Vegas Raiders and Sam Darnold have been linked for the past few weeks. Do the Silver and Black pull the trigger?

Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) reacts as he walks off the field after losing to the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders have $95 million in cap space and the need for a quarterback.

Perhaps the No. 1 name that has been linked to the Silver and Black is Minnesota's Sam Darnold, who is fresh off a resurgent season that included a playoff berth. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk discussed with Rich Eisen that he believes a deal could happen.

"Kevin O'Connell when, when he was making his rounds last Friday after being named Coach of the Year, he told us ... 'Sam Darnold has earned the right to be a free agent,'" Florio said on the "Rich Eisen Show". "That's a way of saying we are not going to use the franchise tag because we don't want to pay him $40 million. I think they'd be willing to keep him and he exhausts his options elsewhere, decides that he'd rather come back to Minnesota for less than what he'd get elsewhere, which I presume will be the case. ... The Raiders would love to have that kind of problem, where you got a guy that's going to win a bunch of regular season games. And when you look around the league at the teams that are looking, Darnold becomes an attractive name."

With a shaky quarterback draft, it is very possible that coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek make a play for a free agent passer. Darnold threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns while leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record in the regular season, helping complete a turnaround nobody expected.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently highlighted the offseason storyline for the Raiders -- using that cap space to make some significant gains.

"Tom Brady promised coaching candidates they’d have the resources to compete," wrote Breer. "Then, the legendary quarterback hired a 73-year-old coach. This would indicate that they aren’t going to waste time dipping into the money pit that new limited owners Egon Durban, Mike Meldman and Tom Wagner have promised to provide, with over $100 million in cap space waiting for Pete Carroll and new GM John Spytek.

"And the spending, I’d think, would be across the board. Maxx Crosby, Brock Bowers and Kolton Miller are really nice building blocks. Outside of that, there are a lot of holes to fill. Carroll’s going to be very specific on what he needs. I bet the Raiders owners will oblige him with their checkbooks."

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