Inside The Vikings

Did Kevin O'Connell's comment about Sam Darnold go unnoticed before Super Bowl?

Is the organizational plan to let Darnold go and hand the keys to J.J. McCarthy?

Joe Nelson

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and head coach Kevin O'Connell talk before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and head coach Kevin O'Connell talk before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
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It's never wise to try and read into something that's said by a profession athlete or coach, but we're in the business of trying to glean information whenever possible and Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell might've spilled the beans about the team's plans with Sam Darnold during a radio interview two days before the Super Bowl.

O'Connell did about a billion interviews leading up to the big game, but ESPN Radio reminded everyone of a comment from O'Connell on Feb. 7 that appears to have flown under the radar.

"There was an organizational plan in place where we wanted to have a guy that we thought we could win football games with while still attempting to draft our quarterback of the future," O'Connell said.

"To be sitting here today, Sam Darnold, 14 wins later, his best season of his career by far. He deserves all the credit for that. We had belief in him and he earned it with his teammates on a daily basis. But then also to have J.J. McCarthy now healthy, gonna have a full offseason, I think it's going to be really exciting. We'll see how the free agency process works out for Sam."

Those words indicate that O'Connell believes Darnold will get to free agency without a deal in place with the Vikings. However, it doesn't suggest that Minnesota won't be involved in free agency negotiations with Darnold.

Minnesota has until 3 p.m. CT on March 4 to use the franchise or transition tag on Darnold. They have until March 10 to work out a contract extension before teams lurking with interest can begin negotiating with Darnold. Players can start signing contracts when free agency officially begins on March 12.

We're in the middle of speculation season and it's grains of information like this that make the Darnold case even more interesting. Like O'Connell said, there was an organizational plan in place when they signed Darnold to a one-year deal and drafted McCarthy. Are they sticking to the plan or did Darnold do enough to convince them to hold off on handing the keys to the franchise to McCarthy for one more season?

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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