Vikings GM Answers For Letting Sam Darnold Leave For Seahawks

What separates regular contenders in the NFL from the rest of the pack isn't some special secret. Drafting and developing players well will always be at the top of the list, but the simplest difference is that those smart teams don't make big mistakes the way so many do.

There are definitely a lot worse run organizations than the Minnesota Vikings, but they blew a big one by allowing former quarterback Sam Darnold to leave in free agency last year.

Their loss was the Seattle Seahawks' gain, and now Darnold is set to start for them in the Super Bowl 10 days from now against the New England Patriots - another team that rarely makes big blunders.

Recently Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was asked about the decision to let Darnold walk. Here's what he had to say for himself, according to Alec Lewis at The Athletic.

Vikings GM on Sam Darnold decision

"There are nights you wake up and stare at the ceiling and ask yourself (about the decisions you make)... I always go back to the process and what we thought at the time. It’s easy to go and be revisionist and be results-based. I still understand why we did what we did. The results maybe didn’t play out the way we wanted them to.”

There's no real smoking gun quote here, but it also sounds a lot like this is one call that the Vikings would like to have a do-over on.

For Darnold's part, he continued to play at the high level we saw in 2024 with Minnesota for most of the season - there were some hiccups in the second half against heavy backfields but Darnold has since rebounded and is playing really well going into the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the guy that Minnesota had in mind to replace him had an atrocious season. After missing his rookie year with an ACL injury, JJ McCarthy had a rough time getting accustomed to the speed of NFL competition.

For the season McCarthy wound up posting just 1,632 passing yards (ranking 32nd), a 57.6% completion rate (35th), 11 touchdowns (29th), 12 interceptions (31st), a 72.6 passer rating (35th) and a 35.7 QBR that would have ranked 27th if he'd qualified.

Darnold did throw more interceptions, but in every other category he vastly out-perfomed and out-produced the former first-round pick out of Michigan.

McCarthy still has time to turn his career around, so this debate isn't quite 100% settled yet - but it's going to be very difficult to justify picking him over Darnold unless he explodes into one of the game's best starters over the next few years.

Darnold was a late bloomer himself, so it's not impossible - but for now the Seahawks got away with a steal.

Vikings GM on Sam Darnold decision

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