Questions Answered: Keeping Sam Darnold, Vikings’ 2025 Draft Need, Packers Game in Week 17

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images. The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the December 11th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected]. Questions Answered: Keeping Sam Darnold, Vikings’ 2025 Draft Need, Packers Game in Week 17 Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum. Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images. Q: Where do you fall in the “keep Sam Darnold” debate? Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. Answer: On the side that endorses J.J. McCarthy for the starting quarterback in 2025. Darnold has played wonderfully, and that’s ironically good and bad. He could propel Minnesota to a deep playoff run, and a couple of months after that, he can land a fat contract somewhere in the NFL. The problem with the Vikings handing Darnold a contract north of $40 million per season? We’ve been here before. The team just ended the Kirk Cousins era. The frequent criticism amid those six seasons was paying a good-but-not-great quarterback top-tier money, with few funds to outfit the roster around him. Re-signing Darnold for three years and $120 million, for example, would immediately whisk the Vikings back to the Cousins era per team-building. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted McCarthy to avoid that pickle. Some have even suggested that Minnesota should trade McCarthy and roll with Darnold. The Ringer‘s Bill Simmons was the most recent example. “Darnold … really has energy with Jefferson and Addison. He has almost 3,300 yards – Darnold – 28 touchdowns, and 10 picks, and if they are in round one of the playoffs, he’ll probably be like a four-plus-point favorite. He’s on a one-year deal. They have J.J. McCarthy, I’d be really hesitant not to bring Darnold back,” Simmons said on his podcast Monday. Then, he delivered the kicker: “Today was the first day where I was like, ‘Wow, they might have actually found their QB, and maybe they should think about trading J.J. McCarthy.'” Sheer lunacy. Make McCarthy the QB1, no matter what. He has the juice. Q: What position should the Vikings draft in Round 1 of the draft? Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports. Answer: Cornerback. The only CBs attached to the 2025 budget right now are Mekhi Blackmon, Dwight McGlothern, and NaJee Thompson. Even if Minnesota re-upped with Byron Murphy — it probably will — the franchise needs another youthful cornerback in the pipeline. It’s rare that the Vikings could sign Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin as the starting solutions and have an 11-2 record for their troubles. We say cornerback, but we wouldn’t be mad about an impact defensive tackle. Q: Will the Packers at Vikings game be flexed? Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. Answer: We’re hearing that it will be flexed from the noon CST time slot to 3:15 pm CST. That hasn’t been confirmed, but if you’re going to that game, prepare for the late afternoon time window. Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.