It could be argued Sam Darnold cost himself a lot of money over his last couple games, but one Minnesota Vikings legend says Darnold’s done enough to remain the team’s quarterback.
In his first 16 games, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft rewrote his story, throwing for 4,153 yards and 35 touchdowns while completing 68.1% of his passes. All of those numbers were, by far, career highs.
But in his final two games — one in which he could have clinched the top seed and the other a playoff game — he threw for just one touchdown pass and 411 yards and led his offense to just 18 points.
Darnold looked in those final two games like what he was known for before arriving in Minnesota, and there are now calls for the team to move on to J.J. McCarthy, the quarterback they selected with the 10th pick last year.
But former Vikings running back Chuck Foreman thinks Darnold did enough to remain the starter.
“The guy comes into the league, he’s drafted by a team that has no talent, he gets labeled. Goes to another team with no talent, gets labeled more. Then he goes to San Francisco, a winning team to get behind the coach that shows him the way … and then he comes here with Kevin, and he takes them to another level,” Foreman told Outkick’s “The Ricky Cobb Show.”
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Foreman shifted blame for the two losses to Minnesota’s offensive line rather than Darnold, who, he said, was helpless against the Lions and Rams.
“The pressure he was under, I only see one or two other quarterbacks that could have any kind of escapability with that, and that’s Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen,” Foreman added.
“I’m signing him, I’m hoping they can both come together in the middle. I understand the money part, but I hope Sam understands his career has been revived right here. And he’s got a following here. Make adjustments next season, but I think he should be the guy.”
Darnold is a free agent after the season and is a candidate for a franchise tag. His previous highs in yards and touchdowns were 3,024 and 19, respectively, in 2019 with the team that drafted him, the New York Jets.
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