Just In: Vikings trade pitch bumps 26-year old star for $160m Super Bowl QB

The Minnesota Vikings are a long way from the panic button after losing their first game of the season by just 2 points against arguably the NFC’s best team in the Detroit Lions. But they should, nevertheless, already be thinking about their future at the quarterback position. Sam Darnold was an MVP candidate through the first four weeks of the season but a bad game against the New York Jets in London, a weekend off and a mediocre performance against Detroit on Sunday has worn the top-of-the-league shine off of Minnesota’s starting QB. That said, Darnold has still been a huge bargain on a one-year deal for just $10 million, and the Vikings are true contenders in the NFC with one-third of the season now in the books. However, some analytical minds around the league have begun to suggest that Minnesota should consider making a move to upgrade under center now and seize this relatively unexpected opportunity to compete for a Super Bowl in 2024.

“With the Rams currently trailing to the Raiders, let me say it out loud: The Minnesota Vikings should trade for Matthew Stafford,” Timo Riske of Pro Football Focus posted to X on October 20. The Los Angeles Rams ended up besting the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7, moving to 2-4 in the process with star wide receiver Cooper Kupp likely to be back with the team for its Thursday Night Football showdown against none other than the Vikings.

Given the short week and some renewed hope in L.A., the organization may be less inclined to consider dealing Stafford ahead of the November 5 deadline. That the two teams play this week also complicates the issue. If the Rams win, they will be within a game of .500 and back in the race for the NFC West Division, which the Seattle Seahawks currently lead with a record of 4-3. That would mean Stafford probably stays put.

 

If the Vikings win, that means Darnold will have bested Stafford and the Vikings are 6-1. That outcome wouldn’t preclude Minnesota from making a deal, though the team does have No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings, and he will return from injury for the 2025 campaign. All of that might be enough to pull the franchise off the idea of making a move for any QB this season, let alone Stafford. However, Minnesota must still consider whether it wants to re-sign Darnold to a monster contract next offseason or risk handing over the keys to a playoff team to a second-year QB in McCarthy without a single snap of regular-season experience in the NFL. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk floated the notion of the Vikings potentially making a move for Stafford just a little over one week ago.