Agent explains why tagging Sam Darnold could've blown up in Vikings' face

The news that the Vikings are not using the franchise tag on Sam Darnold has been met with some confusion from fans. Why wouldn't they be able to use the tag and then recoup draft capital by dealing the top quarterback available this offseason to one of several QB-needy teams?

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. Even if there are multiple teams with real interest in Darnold this offseason, the "tag and trade" route is somewhat rare for a few reasons, and was always going to be easier said than done.

Let NFL agent and Team IFA president Blake Baratz — who represents Adam Thielen, among others — help explain.

"When you tag (Darnold), the entire $41M counts against the cap," Baratz wrote in a reply on X/Twitter on Tuesday. "You cannot use that to sign other players. In addition, he controls the cards of where he goes. In addition, every team knows they have zero intention or desire to have him play on the tag, so you actually lose trade value. The comp pick next year can very well exceed the trade value. We are talking about maybe 2-3 trade partners. It is actually a substantial risk."

The tag for quarterbacks this year is at $40.2 million. If Darnold had signed that, a major portion of the Vikings' cap space would've been tied up until they potentially traded him — and they clearly didn't want to bring him back on the tag. So they would've only ever really used it if they had a trade already lined up with another team, but that requires an interested buyer and Darnold's approval. As The Star Tribune's Ben Goessling put it, tagging Darnold would've "effectively (given) him a no-trade clause, since a new team would want to know whether the quarterback would sign a long-term deal with them before making the trade."

It's complicated and nuanced, but those are some of the reasons why the idea of tagging and trading Darnold didn't come to fruition. Now, despite insider reports that the Vikings are trying to re-sign him this week, it seems quite likely that Darnold will hit free agency next Monday. Once that happens, his camp can field offers from other teams and make a decision.

And that doesn't mean the Vikings will lose Darnold for nothing. They could still stand to gain a third-round compensatory pick in the 2026 draft, just like they did in this draft after Kirk Cousins left last offseason. It all depends on the comp pick formula, where they'd need to lose more qualifying free agents than they add.

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