Jimmy Garoppolo & Sam Darnold Among Vikings’ QB Options

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, some options worth watching for the Vikings include Jimmy Garoppolo and Sam Darnold now that Kirk Cousins has agreed to terms with the Falcons. 

Garoppolo is currently under contract with the Raiders, but the expectation has been that Las Vegas is going to release him this offseason.

It’s worth mentioning that Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Substances Policy.

Darnold is currently a free agent has been linked to the Vikings in recent days.

Garoppolo, 32, is a former second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2014. The Patriots traded him to the 49ers in 2017 at the trade deadline in return for a 2018 second-round pick.

Garoppolo was in line to be an unrestricted free agent when the 49ers signed him to a five-year, $137.5 million contract during the 2018 offseason.

He was set to make a base salary of $24.2 million in 2022 when he agreed to a pay cut in exchange for a no-tag clause. Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.8 million deal with the Raiders this offseason. 

In 2023, Garoppolo appeared in seven games for the Raiders and completed 65.5 percent of his pass attempts for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

Darnold, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2018. He was in the final year of a four-year, $30.370 million rookie contract when he was traded to the Panthers. 

Carolina exercised Darnold’s fifth-year option for 2022 after acquiring him from New York. He made a base salary of $18.858 million in 2022 under the option. 

Darnold was an unrestricted free agent for the first time this offseason when he signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the 49ers. 

In 2023, Darnold appeared in 10 games with one start and completed 28-46 of his pass attempts (60.6 percent) for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a touchdown.