February 8, 2025 • 11 mins
Minnesota Tim discusses the evolving situation of the Minnesota Vikings, focusing on the potential departure of quarterback Sam Darnold. The conversation highlights the Vikings' strategy under Kevin O'Connell, the challenges of free agency, and the team's future direction, including the possibility of Daniel Jones.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome into the show today. Thank you for making this
podcast a part of your day. And while you're here,
if you have not yet joined the crowd, and hit
that subscribe button if you're watching on YouTube, and hit
that follow button if you're listening via the podcast app
on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Google. Wherever you are watching
(00:30):
or listening, hit that subscriber or follow button, and this
podcast will be in your feed six times a week.
All Right, The Minnesota Vikings Sam Donald's store continues to
get interesting, and the outcome of Sam Donald and the
Minnesota Vikings continues to be revealed day after day, every
(00:56):
single day, the curtain is peeled back just a little
bit more if you can read between the lines. And
I'm not gonna lie about this. I've been with one
hundred percent on who leaves and who stays. Last year,
immediately following the season, I said, Kirk.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Cousins is gone. He's gone.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
He does not want to be the guy that is
a quarterback one over a rookie, and he is not
going to sign a contract for one year when there's
other suitors out there that will sign him for more
than that. Well, it turns out he goes to the Falcons.
The Falcons backstab him by drafting Michael Pennocks junior, and
(01:41):
he had the exact same situation. So Kirk made the
wrong choice. However, did he really He got ninety million,
one hundred million dollars guaranteed. It's the same thing with
Sam Donald. This offseason, Donald will receive a one to
two year contract from the Minnesota Vikings. However, the problem
(02:04):
with that offer is that Sam Donald is going to
receive a multi year offer from some other organization. If
you read the tea leaves, if you read the room,
that is exactly what's going to happen. There is going
to be a team out there that desires Sam Donald
(02:26):
for more than the and will offer him more than
the Minnesota Vikings. And Kevin O'Connell did the media tour
because he was in New Orleans for the Coach of
the Year award, and he had this to say on
Mad Dog Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Now, obviously quarterback position is going to be a topic
for conversation. And you know, Sam was phenomenal and did
a great job, and you drafted JJ in the first round,
and I love that pick, and I love his upside,
I love his talent, So take me through the thought
process here, because you do have a franchise tag and
obviously I know QUESI and company they'll get to work
(03:07):
on that. You know, is JJ ready? Do you want
to bring back Sam? Could you bring back both? What's
the thought process for the off season at quarterback?
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Yeah, I think first and foremost for me. You know,
you know how much I love the quarterback positions. So
the season Sam had, being with him every step of
the way and just watching him really find, you know,
what I believe was supposed to be his successful path
in this league. So we know Sam can play at
a high level. We're also very excited about JJ McCarthy.
(03:37):
We you know, we were jumping for joy when we
could make him a Minnesota Viking last year.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
He has the injury.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
He's getting to a place now where he's you know,
having a full off season is going to be critical
for him.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
He's going to be healthy.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
He's basically there now and now it's a process and
making sure we don't let that guy overwork. Everybody knows
his makeup and what he's all about. But the way
I look at it is, we have options. We want
to over communicate with these players and make sure that
they know how much we care about them, how much
we would love to have all of them.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
We'd love to have.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
The same team and then just keep adding to it
next year, but it's just not the way our league works,
so we're going to work through it. Sam knows how
much we care about him. He's earned the right now
to be, in my opinion, the marquee free agent at
the position, and that normally means really good things for
Sam Donald. Whether that ends up being in Minnesota with us,
we'd be excited about that, or if he's playing for
(04:29):
another team, they're going to be getting a great quarterback
and we'll have JJ ready to go. I also, you know,
bring Daniel Jones in late in the year and getting
some exposure to him and him learning about us a
little bit. That's the kind of depth you really want
as a quarterback quote unquote, guy. You want your quarterback
room full with guys that have tremendous upside and chances
to help you win.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
You can hear the tone in Kevin O'Connell's voice, and
there's been consistent language over the last few days about
Sam Donald being the Marquis free agent and earning the
right to become a free agent quarterback, which tells me
that the Minnesota Vikings are not going to put the
(05:12):
franchise tag on him one because they're probably nervous that
if you do franchise tag him, you can't find a
trade partner. Well, you're stuck giving a guy a one year,
forty one million dollar contract. Plus if you do franchise
taghm I get their salary cap flexibility on the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Side right now. But if you sign and trade Sam Darnald.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
The problem with that is that you need to find
a trade partner, let's say the Raiders or the Giants,
and you needed to find pieces on that team that
you want to bring over to your team. And right now,
who wants a piece of the Raiders of the Giants
right now? Who wants a piece of the bottom feeders
in the league right now? So it seems like Sam
(05:59):
Darnald is destined for free agency, and Kevin O'Connor has
been very consistent on that as of late. So Kevin O'Connell,
the Minnesota Vikings organization, and Sam Donald I've been saying
it for the last few weeks. This is destined for
a departure. And Sam Donald is going to sign a
(06:23):
multi year contract somewhere else. The Minnesota Vikings are setting
it up that way. And you look at what Kevin
O'Connell mentioned at the end of that video. His eyes
brightened when he started discussing Daniel Jones. He was very
intentional about bringing up Daniel Jones. And I think the
(06:45):
Minnesota Vikings are very intentional about bringing Daniel Jones back
this season. So it appears that Daniel Jones could be
a major priority for the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, which
would allow the Vikings to keep their massive salary cap
space to bring in positions of needs, maybe like a
(07:06):
trade smith, maybe another left guard or right guard or center.
It allows the Minnesota Vikings the flexibility that they've been
working towards for years now, since Quesci and Kevin came on.
It has all it's been all about manufacturing flexibility to
(07:27):
go into free agency and bring in guys that you want.
And if you sign and trade Sam Donald, your options
are limited.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
If you resign Sam Donald to a multi.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Year deal, you're in all that salary cap space, and
that is not the long term vision of the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You know, maybe late in the year.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Before the final two weeks in the year, the Minnesota
Vikings had a pivot plan if Sam Donald leads the
Vikings far in the playoffs, but his last two performances
made them double down on their original ff to maintain
the status quo let Donald hit free agency. He had
(08:06):
the handshake agreement before the year started, a one year deal.
You go somewhere else, hopefully you get a bunch of
money somewhere else. And you know, O'Connell's comments are very reflective.
You know, we love to have Sam bach shir YadA, YadA, YadA,
but like if he's on a different team, and we're
gonna be so happy for Tam and I've loved that
we've maximized our time together. His language has been very consistent,
(08:28):
and it's so funny to see people like, oh, you know,
I'm gonna guess that.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Sam Donald's gone. He's gone. There's no guessing game here.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Donald is not going to resign with the Minnesota Vikings
because of the Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Vikings perspective and because of what Sam.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Donald and his agent wants for them and O'Connell again,
here's another quote from O'Connell on the ordeal.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Everyone's asking him about it.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Kevin O'Connell on the Viking, Sam Donald and his upcoming
free agency. We've had a QB play himself into being
the marquis free agent at the position. The important thing
is we have to figure out what the best team
in twenty twenty five is that we can put together
the best team. The best team, Okay, that is the catchphrase.
(09:17):
That is the phrase, the best team that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
We can put together.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
What that tells me is that the Minnesota Vikings want
to overhaul many positions on their roster and not bring
back a quarterback and eliminate the ability to do things
like that. So Donold's as good as gone, and the
(09:45):
Minnesota Vikings will enter the off season ota sessions and
all those things with J. J. McCarthy, and hopefully their
plan is Daniel Jones, with Daniel Jones being given a chance,
just like Donald did last year, to compete with J. J.
(10:07):
McCarthy for a quarterback one spot, with the nod given
to McCarthy.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
There's no guessing game here. It is very consistent.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
The language is very clear because the Minnesota Vikings brath
they don't say anything. They say the exact classic nonsense
that smart head coaches and smart and general managers say.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
They don't reveal too much.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
They reveal a little bit, but then they back up
those comments and backtrack, and then they spin around in
circles like O'Connell. Oh yeah, I love this time that
Sam and I have had together. You know, if we
could bring him back, that would be great. But we're
gonna do the best that we can to be a
better team. In twenty twenty five, he's gonna be a
Marquis free agent, but we've maximized our time together and
if we can bring him back, great.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
He said the exact he said every single answer.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Possible in that twenty to thirty second clip. So that's
the plan. This is the Minnesota Vikings plan with Sam Darland.
There's no doubt about it. Book it, guarantee it, quick
questioning it.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's right.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
All right, we'll talk to you later. Hit that subscribe button.
Thanks for making this podcast part every day.
Welcome into the show today. Thank you for making this
podcast a part of your day. And while you're here,
if you have not yet joined the crowd, and hit
that subscribe button if you're watching on YouTube, and hit
that follow button if you're listening via the podcast app
on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Google. Wherever you are watching
(00:30):
or listening, hit that subscriber or follow button, and this
podcast will be in your feed six times a week.
All Right, The Minnesota Vikings Sam Donald's store continues to
get interesting, and the outcome of Sam Donald and the
Minnesota Vikings continues to be revealed day after day, every
(00:56):
single day, the curtain is peeled back just a little
bit more if you can read between the lines. And
I'm not gonna lie about this. I've been with one
hundred percent on who leaves and who stays. Last year,
immediately following the season, I said, Kirk.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Cousins is gone. He's gone.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
He does not want to be the guy that is
a quarterback one over a rookie, and he is not
going to sign a contract for one year when there's
other suitors out there that will sign him for more
than that. Well, it turns out he goes to the Falcons.
The Falcons backstab him by drafting Michael Pennocks junior, and
(01:41):
he had the exact same situation. So Kirk made the
wrong choice. However, did he really He got ninety million,
one hundred million dollars guaranteed. It's the same thing with
Sam Donald. This offseason, Donald will receive a one to
two year contract from the Minnesota Vikings. However, the problem
(02:04):
with that offer is that Sam Donald is going to
receive a multi year offer from some other organization. If
you read the tea leaves, if you read the room,
that is exactly what's going to happen. There is going
to be a team out there that desires Sam Donald
(02:26):
for more than the and will offer him more than
the Minnesota Vikings. And Kevin O'Connell did the media tour
because he was in New Orleans for the Coach of
the Year award, and he had this to say on
Mad Dog Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Now, obviously quarterback position is going to be a topic
for conversation. And you know, Sam was phenomenal and did
a great job, and you drafted JJ in the first round,
and I love that pick, and I love his upside,
I love his talent, So take me through the thought
process here, because you do have a franchise tag and
obviously I know QUESI and company they'll get to work
(03:07):
on that. You know, is JJ ready? Do you want
to bring back Sam? Could you bring back both? What's
the thought process for the off season at quarterback?
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Yeah, I think first and foremost for me. You know,
you know how much I love the quarterback positions. So
the season Sam had, being with him every step of
the way and just watching him really find, you know,
what I believe was supposed to be his successful path
in this league. So we know Sam can play at
a high level. We're also very excited about JJ McCarthy.
(03:37):
We you know, we were jumping for joy when we
could make him a Minnesota Viking last year.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
He has the injury.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
He's getting to a place now where he's you know,
having a full off season is going to be critical
for him.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
He's going to be healthy.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
He's basically there now and now it's a process and
making sure we don't let that guy overwork. Everybody knows
his makeup and what he's all about. But the way
I look at it is, we have options. We want
to over communicate with these players and make sure that
they know how much we care about them, how much
we would love to have all of them.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
We'd love to have.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
The same team and then just keep adding to it
next year, but it's just not the way our league works,
so we're going to work through it. Sam knows how
much we care about him. He's earned the right now
to be, in my opinion, the marquee free agent at
the position, and that normally means really good things for
Sam Donald. Whether that ends up being in Minnesota with us,
we'd be excited about that, or if he's playing for
(04:29):
another team, they're going to be getting a great quarterback
and we'll have JJ ready to go. I also, you know,
bring Daniel Jones in late in the year and getting
some exposure to him and him learning about us a
little bit. That's the kind of depth you really want
as a quarterback quote unquote, guy. You want your quarterback
room full with guys that have tremendous upside and chances
to help you win.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
You can hear the tone in Kevin O'Connell's voice, and
there's been consistent language over the last few days about
Sam Donald being the Marquis free agent and earning the
right to become a free agent quarterback, which tells me
that the Minnesota Vikings are not going to put the
(05:12):
franchise tag on him one because they're probably nervous that
if you do franchise tag him, you can't find a
trade partner. Well, you're stuck giving a guy a one year,
forty one million dollar contract. Plus if you do franchise
taghm I get their salary cap flexibility on the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Side right now. But if you sign and trade Sam Darnald.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
The problem with that is that you need to find
a trade partner, let's say the Raiders or the Giants,
and you needed to find pieces on that team that
you want to bring over to your team. And right now,
who wants a piece of the Raiders of the Giants
right now? Who wants a piece of the bottom feeders
in the league right now? So it seems like Sam
(05:59):
Darnald is destined for free agency, and Kevin O'Connor has
been very consistent on that as of late. So Kevin O'Connell,
the Minnesota Vikings organization, and Sam Donald I've been saying
it for the last few weeks. This is destined for
a departure. And Sam Donald is going to sign a
(06:23):
multi year contract somewhere else. The Minnesota Vikings are setting
it up that way. And you look at what Kevin
O'Connell mentioned at the end of that video. His eyes
brightened when he started discussing Daniel Jones. He was very
intentional about bringing up Daniel Jones. And I think the
(06:45):
Minnesota Vikings are very intentional about bringing Daniel Jones back
this season. So it appears that Daniel Jones could be
a major priority for the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, which
would allow the Vikings to keep their massive salary cap
space to bring in positions of needs, maybe like a
(07:06):
trade smith, maybe another left guard or right guard or center.
It allows the Minnesota Vikings the flexibility that they've been
working towards for years now, since Quesci and Kevin came on.
It has all it's been all about manufacturing flexibility to
(07:27):
go into free agency and bring in guys that you want.
And if you sign and trade Sam Donald, your options
are limited.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
If you resign Sam Donald to a multi.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Year deal, you're in all that salary cap space, and
that is not the long term vision of the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You know, maybe late in the year.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Before the final two weeks in the year, the Minnesota
Vikings had a pivot plan if Sam Donald leads the
Vikings far in the playoffs, but his last two performances
made them double down on their original ff to maintain
the status quo let Donald hit free agency. He had
(08:06):
the handshake agreement before the year started, a one year deal.
You go somewhere else, hopefully you get a bunch of
money somewhere else. And you know, O'Connell's comments are very reflective.
You know, we love to have Sam bach shir YadA, YadA, YadA,
but like if he's on a different team, and we're
gonna be so happy for Tam and I've loved that
we've maximized our time together. His language has been very consistent,
(08:28):
and it's so funny to see people like, oh, you know,
I'm gonna guess that.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Sam Donald's gone. He's gone. There's no guessing game here.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Donald is not going to resign with the Minnesota Vikings
because of the Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Vikings perspective and because of what Sam.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Donald and his agent wants for them and O'Connell again,
here's another quote from O'Connell on the ordeal.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Everyone's asking him about it.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Kevin O'Connell on the Viking, Sam Donald and his upcoming
free agency. We've had a QB play himself into being
the marquis free agent at the position. The important thing
is we have to figure out what the best team
in twenty twenty five is that we can put together
the best team. The best team, Okay, that is the catchphrase.
(09:17):
That is the phrase, the best team that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
We can put together.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
What that tells me is that the Minnesota Vikings want
to overhaul many positions on their roster and not bring
back a quarterback and eliminate the ability to do things
like that. So Donold's as good as gone, and the
(09:45):
Minnesota Vikings will enter the off season ota sessions and
all those things with J. J. McCarthy, and hopefully their
plan is Daniel Jones, with Daniel Jones being given a chance,
just like Donald did last year, to compete with J. J.
(10:07):
McCarthy for a quarterback one spot, with the nod given
to McCarthy.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
There's no guessing game here. It is very consistent.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
The language is very clear because the Minnesota Vikings brath
they don't say anything. They say the exact classic nonsense
that smart head coaches and smart and general managers say.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
They don't reveal too much.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
They reveal a little bit, but then they back up
those comments and backtrack, and then they spin around in
circles like O'Connell. Oh yeah, I love this time that
Sam and I have had together. You know, if we
could bring him back, that would be great. But we're
gonna do the best that we can to be a
better team. In twenty twenty five, he's gonna be a
Marquis free agent, but we've maximized our time together and
if we can bring him back, great.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
He said the exact he said every single answer.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Possible in that twenty to thirty second clip. So that's
the plan. This is the Minnesota Vikings plan with Sam Darland.
There's no doubt about it. Book it, guarantee it, quick
questioning it.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's right.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
All right, we'll talk to you later. Hit that subscribe button.
Thanks for making this podcast part every day.
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