The Minnesota Vikings shocked the world in the regular season.
They won 14 games and looked poised for a deep postseason run.
Even Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell told Kevin O’Connell that they would meet again in the playoffs after the regular-season finale.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
The Vikings’ offensive line and the Los Angeles Rams’ defense took a huge leap, but Sam Darnold’s struggles didn’t do much to help.
That’s why Colin Cowherd believes he has sealed his fate with the Vikings.
Talking on “The Volume,” Cowherd predicted that the Vikings would move on from Darnold and roll with J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback for the future.
“Minnesota is going to move off Sam Darnold and go with J.J. McCarthy”@colincowherd on the Vikings QB situation after loss to Rams pic.twitter.com/62M5o7obwx
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) January 14, 2025
More than that, he claimed that Darnold, who looked like a $50 million quarterback at one point in the season, was now more likely to get a deal similar to Baker Mayfield’s in the 3-year, $100 million range.
Granted, it’s never right or fair to point the finger at just one player after a loss.
Then again, Kevin O’Connell looked very frustrated with Darnold over the past couple of weeks.
With a promising rookie quarterback waiting in line, the decision has just become much simpler.
Multiple teams will be in the mix for a quarterback in free agency.
Darnold may have cost himself a lot of money with his struggles, but he will still have an opportunity to prove his worth and silence the doubters with his own team.
NEXT: Analyst Believes Sam Darnold Has Cost Himself Money This Offseason
