Sam Darnold signed a one-year, 10-million-dollar deal with the Vikings last season. He was thought to play the role of backup and mentor to rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. After McCarthy went down with a season-ending injury, Darnold took the starting spot. The Vikings became the surprising team of the year going 14-3.

The Vikings have expressed their lack of interest in resigning Darnold and working with their second-year quarterback. With Darnold’s success and lack of value financially, he will be a good pickup for someone on a short-term deal without hurting their cap space. Expect Darnold to earn similar numbers as last season around the 10 million dollar mark.

Teams will look to use Darnold as a bridge player to play this season while they rebuild. The difference between him and other bridge players is he can make a team competitive, so he will likely go to a team that is towards the end of their rebuild.

The biggest team to watch for signing Sam Darnold is the newest addition to the QB carousel, the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks traded Geno Smith to the Raiders on the evening of March 7. Their next-man-up is Sam Howell who is likely not the answer for a team that can still be competitive. The Seahawks will probably want to add some receivers to fill the void of Metcalf and Lockett before they bring in a young quarterback. Signing Darnold will give them a year to build up those skill positions to have weapons for their next franchise quarterback target.

The next team to look for is the New York Jets. Taking the gamble on Aaron Rodgers two offseasons ago showed their idea of rolling the dice on a quarterback because they believe their skill positions are good enough to make a playoff run. Signing Darnold would be a low-risk, high-reward opportunity because either he works out and wins games for them or gives them another year to figure out what they want to do at the position.

The 49ers could use Darnold differently. Brock Purdy’s contract is up next season and he will likely look for a big extension. It may be time to let Purdy walk due to his lack of production and to save money for the many players that will need to be signed next off-season. Signing Darnold to a two-year contract could give him a year to learn the system then play for a contract the year after.

Darnold is seen as one of the top free agents because of the success he had last year minus the last two games. He could be a cheap signing with high potential for whoever wants to take the gamble.

Featured Image via cbssports.com