Sam Darnold Free Agency Landing Spots: Five Possible Team Fits

A quality NFL starting quarterback? For most of the year, Sam Darnold looked the part—right up until he didn’t.

Remnants of Darnold’s frigid finish are difficult to forget, pooled around him like a moat because of the significance of the two losses to Minnesota, resulting from his ice-cold performances.

After 13 games with a passer rating of 100-plus and 14 wins in his first 16 games with the Vikings, Darnold crashed in the winner-take-all regular-season finale at Detroit for the NFC North title. He completed 18 of 41 passes (43.9%) and averaged 4.05 yards per pass with a 55.5 passer rating. Rather than the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, the 14-win Vikings packed for a wild-card road game against NFC West winner Los Angeles (in Arizona). Playoff Sam wasn’t much better: 25 of 40 and sacked nine times.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell proclaimed the Vikings would welcome Darnold back and attempted a public-facing defense of Darnold’s nosedive, advising the public to assess the quarterback on his body of work in the 2024 season.

Reality is, Darnold lost a significant amount of money in those two spotlight games and enters free agency in complete turmoil. Teams will view the body of work as one thing, and his showing under the burden of playoff pressure as an unforgettable truth.

Can Darnold win games in the NFL? Certainly. Will he win when it matters? Ehhhhhh.

The best paths forward for Darnold are those without the guarantee of a No. 1 job. He could do well in the role he was signed by the Vikings to fill: bridge quarterback and mentor for first-round pick J.J. McCarthy.

Starter money disappeared in Detroit, and whatever was left went up in flames in Arizona against the Rams.

Here are five teams that could dial up Darnold as a stopgap in 2025.

1. Tennessee Titans

Nobody expects the Titans to torpedo the AFC South after posting the league’s worst record in 2024. And nobody knows if Will Levis will get another chance to prove he can handle the rigors of the position at this level. Darnold looked capable of helping Tennessee with a 3-0 record against the division last season and a win over the Titans in Nashville. He’d be aligned with another coach from the Sean McVay coaching tree—Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, O’Connell in Minnesota—with Brian Callahan, who helped develop Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.

2. Cleveland Browns

Kevin Stefanski took the Browns to the playoffs with Joe Flacco fresh from the couch in 2023. With a fortified offensive line, Darnold could hold up well until Cleveland has a better option. But he’s more of a controlled, anticipatory passer who benefited from indoor environs in Minnesota. He doesn’t have the rocket-launcher throwing arm of Flacco or Jameis Winston or the mobility to do much outside the pocket.

3. Indianapolis Colts

This isn’t a perfect fit, considering the Colts designed an offense for a 6-foot-4, 250-pound quarterback who is a vastly better runner than passer in Anthony Richardson. But GM Chris Ballard promised competition, and the 2025 draft needs to be about playmakers, pass rush and offensive line help.

4. New York Giants

Brian Daboll can make it work with a play-action passer. Darnold on a no-promises contract would at least give the Giants options entering the draft.

5. New York Jets

New coach Aaron Glenn authored the Week 18 game plan—then as Lions defensive coordinator—that resulted in Darnold’s free agency demise. But Darnold nearly got the best of him in a 31-29 loss to the Lions on Oct. 20.