All Things 2024-25 Vikings Regular Season Thread

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howeda7 said:
I assume his agent gets his % if the Vikings franchise him.
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If I'm not mistaken, franchise tag money is due in a lump sum, can't be spread out.
Which means $40 million less to spend on free agents next season.

If Darnold, our oline (run blocking still not stellar), and our defense keep playing like this, Vikes may decide he is worth it? Vikes could sign Darnold to a non-franchise long term deal and spread out the hits? Franchise and trade him also a real possibility if he keeps playing like this? Explore a McCarthy trade?

Kwesi made the right calls booting Cousins and signing Darnold. Going to have another big decision to make this off-season.

Depends a lot on how the team does going forward I would think.
 
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GophersInIowa said:
Continued success can set him up for more money long term even if it’s less right now. He signs a 3-4 year deal for a crappy franchise, his options after the contract is up may be limited.
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"Can" is a key component to your statement.

I would lean towards strike while the iron is hot philosophy if I were advising Darnold (and he is not Franchise Tagged). Future productivity and health are by no means guaranteed in the NFL.
 

Green Bay Packers: 11 Wins -- 5 Losses, but 1-4 against the NFC North (with a game against Chicago at Lambeau remaining).

0-5 vs Eagles/Vikings/Lions.
11-0 vs rest of the NFL
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
I really don't know how you let a guy leave your building that is running YOUR offense at an elite level. I just don't see it.

And F*CK the new AP suggested rules/criteria on injury-related Comeback Player of the Year; how on God's green earth do you not vote Sam Darnold CPOY? And I'm not even saying that because I have a 30-1 bet on him to win the award.

Same with KOC; that has to all but seal the Coach of the Year award, regardless of what happens next week against Detroit (and yes, I also have a 30-1 bet on him for the award!)
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Wow. 30x10=300. Twice.
 


gophersfan said:
Vikings/Lions SNF.

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Maybe this NFC North clash deserves its own thread?

If so, thought it would be appropriate you post it, as you started the season thread and we don’t want to mess with the good vibes 😃its produced
 
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howeda7 said:
I'd lock it in for 5 years/$50 million if I were Sam...
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Yup, a 76 year old man misspoke; if I’m blessed to live another 18 years, I hope, I look that good and have all my faculties.

Not sure if you were old enough to see Terry play during his salad days, but he got pummeled (back when head slapping was legal); best exemplified by this brutal pile driving sack, curtesy of Mr. Turkey 🦃 Jones (its worth the click) -

 






golf said:
If I'm not mistaken, franchise tag money is due in a lump sum, can't be spread out.
Which means $40 million less to spend on free agents next season.

If Darnold, our oline (run blocking still not stellar), and our defense keep playing like this, Vikes may decide he is worth it? Vikes could sign Darnold to a non-franchise long term deal and spread out the hits? Franchise and trade him also a real possibility if he keeps playing like this? Explore a McCarthy trade?

Kwesi made the right calls booting Cousins and signing Darnold. Going to have another big decision to make this off-season.

Depends a lot on how the team does going forward I would think.
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But we have over $70M in dead money this season ...

Let's call it a gain of $40M to spend on free agents (paying Darnold $41M instead of $10M) :D
 

GopherJake said:
Wow. 30x10=300. Twice.
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The fun is in being right, Charlie Brown, and taking money from the House. And truth be told, I only had $5 on the Darnold bet.
golf said:
Vikes could sign Darnold to a non-franchise long term deal and spread out the hits? Franchise and trade him also a real possibility if he keeps playing like this? Explore a McCarthy trade?

Kwesi made the right calls booting Cousins and signing Darnold. Going to have another big decision to make this off-season.

Depends a lot on how the team does going forward I would think.
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This is going to be a fascinating offseason for this front office. Can't wait to see what they end up doing.
 




Ope3 said:
"Can" is a key component to your statement.

I would lean towards strike while the iron is hot philosophy if I were advising Darnold (and he is not Franchise Tagged). Future productivity and health are by no means guaranteed in the NFL.
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Eh, coming back to MN he knows he probably won’t be miserable, he has a greater chance of winning and a greater chance at individual success. All those things can outweigh more money, especially for a guy that has been with terrible organizations and knows how bad it can be.
 

GopherJake said:
Nobody cares. Sorry.
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Friendly tip; most everyone is able to separate the two boards and behave here with a modicum of civility. Might not be a bad idea to keep your baggage all in one place. Just a friendly word of advice.
GophersInIowa said:
Eh, coming back to MN he knows he probably won’t be miserable, he has a greater chance of winning and a greater chance at individual success. All those things can outweigh more money, especially for a guy that has been with terrible organizations and knows how bad it can be.
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I think both sides want to get something done and I think they will. And I'm not even sure that how things shake out the rest of the way matters at this point, with regards to what they want to do for next season.
 

Some fun numbers from yesterday’s W, due to excellent coaching (from Alec Lewis’ game recap in The Athletic) -

KOC called passes on 5 of the last 6 plays.

His rational for not running more?

He believed Darnold would take care of the ball, properly delineating between prosperity and disaster. So, with his defense reeling late in the fourth quarter, he dialed up three rollouts.

B Flo changed up his approach

Before Sunday, the Vikings had played man coverage on just 15.7 percent of their defensive snaps this season, according to TruMedia.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings used man coverage on 47.1 percent of the Packers’ dropbacks Sunday, including 11 of 13 on third and fourth downs.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur admitted after the game that he did not expect man coverage early in the game and shouldered the blame for not adapting quickly enough. Green Bay had scored 30 points in five straight games, but on Sunday, the team’s wideouts failed to make plays and Love pogo-sticked anxiously in the pocket.

Finally here’s a post on X which shows KOC revealing in Sam’s celebration.

x.com

x.com x.com
 
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Not sure how accurate this is but it says they currently have $78m in cap space available next year. Even if they resign Darnold, they’ll almost certainly defer some of that money so there would still be a lot left.

www.spotrac.com

2025 NFL Team Salary Cap Tracker

A real-time look at the 2025 salary cap totals for each NFL team, including estimated cap space.
www.spotrac.com www.spotrac.com
 

GophersInIowa said:
Eh, coming back to MN he knows he probably won’t be miserable, he has a greater chance of winning and a greater chance at individual success. All those things can outweigh more money, especially for a guy that has been with terrible organizations and knows how bad it can be.
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I’m sure Danny Dimes has regaled him with Giant tales of woe 😉, from his NYC days.
 


GopherGrit said:
But we have over $70M in dead money this season ...

Let's call it a gain of $40M to spend on free agents (paying Darnold $41M instead of $10M) :D
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Not exactly sure what u mean. We have $76 million in cap space next season. This includes all salaries on the book and dead cap. GB has $64 mill and Detroit $63 mill. If we pay Darnold 40 next season, we are down to 36.
At least that is my understanding.
 


kg21 said:
30 -40% packer fans in the stadium yesterday?
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On TV it seemed Under would have been the proper bet on that, more like 20-25%. Hard to tell if those wearing white were Packers or Vikes fans.

It was great the Purple kept them quiet for the vast majority of the contest.
 

golf said:
Not exactly sure what u mean. We have $76 million in cap space next season. This includes all salaries on the book and dead cap. GB has $64 mill and Detroit $63 mill. If we pay Darnold 40 next season, we are down to 36.
At least that is my understanding.
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I'm only trying to say a thing like this:

2024:
paying Darnold $10M
$72M "paid" to Dead money ( https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/minnesota-vikings )
then the rest being paid how it is

2025:
+$72M no longer "owed" to Dead money
pay Darnold $41M (franchise) is -$31M
for a "net" of +$41M


That obviously does not take into account things like whatever money was pushed into 2025 owed to guys in order to get them here this year in 2024, needing to resign guys who were cheaper and will probably get nice pay days, etc.


Your thing is just as correct if not more, I'm just looking at it from a narrow different angle.
 

GopherGrit said:
I'm only trying to say a thing like this:

2024:
paying Darnold $10M
$72M "paid" to Dead money ( https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/minnesota-vikings )
then the rest being paid how it is

2025:
+$72M no longer "owed" to Dead money
pay Darnold $41M (franchise) is -$31M
for a "net" of +$41M


That obviously does not take into account things like whatever money was pushed into 2025 owed to guys in order to get them here this year in 2024, needing to resign guys who were cheaper and will probably get nice pay days, etc.


Your thing is just as correct if not more, I'm just looking at it from a narrow different angle.
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Yeah, and the question for Kwesi will be that if we sign Darnold, that means $25 million more in cap space next season for GB and Detroit than for us.

Darnold was magnificent yesterday. Spot on with some throws into very tight windows.
However we must remember Pack was missing important players Watson (thanks again Kwesi), Alexander, Williams, Walker, Anderson. Do we win that game if these guys play? We are all aware how Detroit has been hammered like none other with injuries this season as well.

Vikes have probly been the most healthy team in the league this year. If we sign Darnold but don't have a significant health advantage next season, what happens? If we sign Darnold and our two biggest rivals have $25 million more in cap space, what happens? Going forward, can we count on our oline playing like yesterday? Will Flores be back and if not do we need significant salary cap space to upgrade our defensive talent? We have to sign our whole defensive backfield, how much of our salary cap will just that take?

There are a lot of questions. Given all the above, I am not convinced Darnold's $40m+ salary here would allow his supporting cast to be as strong as will be needed.

Anyway, kinda fun to speculate. Depends as well on exactly what KOC thinks of McCarthy. I suppose safe move would be to franchise Sam and let it ride another year? May not be the best move though. Guess I trust Kwesi to make the right call.
 
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golf said:
Yeah, and the question for Kwesi will be that if we sign Darnold, that means $25 million more in cap space next season for GB and Detroit than for us.

Darnold was magnificent yesterday. Spot on with some throws into very tight windows.
However we must remember Pack was missing important players Watson (thanks again Kwesi), Alexander, Williams, Walker, Anderson. Do we win that game if these guys play? We are all aware how Detroit has been hammered like none other with injuries this season as well.

Vikes have probly been the most healthy team in the league this year. If we sign Darnold but don't have a significant health advantage next season, what happens? If we sign Darnold and our two biggest rivals have $25 million more in cap space, what happens? Going forward, can we count on our oline playing like yesterday? Will Flores be back and if not do we need significant salary cap space to upgrade our defensive talent? We have to sign our whole defensive backfield, how much of our salary cap will just that take?

There are a lot of questions. Given all the above, I am not convinced Darnold's $40m+ salary here would allow his supporting cast to be as strong as will be needed.

Anyway, kinda fun to speculate. Depends as well on exactly what KOC thinks of McCarthy. I suppose safe move would be to franchise Sam and let it ride another year? May not be the best move though. Guess I trust Kwesi to make the right call.
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I wonder GB and Detroit yo a lesser extent has to spend some of their cash to keep their core players. GB has the youngest team in the league and sooner or later those guys are off their rookie contracts and will require more 💰.

It seems a true analysis would have to include the above as well.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
I wonder GB and Detroit yo a lesser extent has to spend some of their cash to keep their core players. GB has the youngest team in the league and sooner or later those guys are off their rookie contracts and will require more 💰.

It seems a true analysis would have to include the above as well.
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For sure. Those two teams may or may not have a lot of current players to sign as well. No idea.

Would recommend to everyone a 13 min clip of the Rich Eisen show that has been posted on YouTube today. He does a great job of capturing the path and emotion that has brought Darnold to this moment.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
As a Vikings fan, I continue to be more and more enthusiastic with what I see from Caleb Williams.

He holds the ball forever, he looks confused every time he drops back, he can't read the defense past one read, and he can't process the game at the NFL level. No doubt, it's still pretty early but I just don't see this player scaring the NFC North for the next decade with any level of proficiency; and playing behind the team that the wonder duo of Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles puts out on the field, it's destined to be an unmitigated grease fire.
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This would be an interesting, move by the Chicago Bears.

www.chicagotribune.com

Column: Why Pete Carroll makes sense as a candidate for the Chicago Bears coaching job

Pete Carroll is intrigued by the possibility of coaching the Chicago Bears. They owe it to themselves to remain open-minded.
www.chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com

Perhaps Carroll is too logical for their braintrust to consider.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
I wonder GB and Detroit yo a lesser extent has to spend some of their cash to keep their core players. GB has the youngest team in the league and sooner or later those guys are off their rookie contracts and will require more 💰.

It seems a true analysis would have to include the above as well.
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The somewhat interesting thing about GB (specifically offense) is almost all of their pass catchers have been in the NFL 2-3 years. I thought they weren't as good at drafting, as none of them are really "elite", but they all are decent. This may be to their advantage. If you look at their stats, none would likely garner top money on the open market. Which means they're more likely to be able to sign them to team friendly extensions. Reed is by far the alpha, but he won't have had a 1,000 yard season yet in the NFL. Three of the top 5 receivers are in their second year. The other two are in their third year. If he continues at this pace, Reed could garner a decent contract, as well as Kraft, but they're not likely looking at top-5 position money. Watson is constantly injured, which will hurt his potential. The rest are fairly replaceable and/or affordable. Love is signed long term. Jacobs is signed long term. It's entirely possible they can keep the group together for a while.

Screenshot 2024-12-30 152958.png
 

forever a gopher said:
The somewhat interesting thing about GB (specifically offense) is almost all of their pass catchers have been in the NFL 2-3 years. I thought they weren't as good at drafting, as none of them are really "elite", but they all are decent. This may be to their advantage. If you look at their stats, none would likely garner top money on the open market. Which means they're more likely to be able to sign them to team friendly extensions. Reed is by far the alpha, but he won't have had a 1,000 yard season yet in the NFL. Three of the top 5 receivers are in their second year. The other two are in their third year. If he continues at this pace, Reed could garner a decent contract, as well as Kraft, but they're not likely looking at top-5 position money. Watson is constantly injured, which will hurt his potential. The rest are fairly replaceable and/or affordable. Love is signed long term. Jacobs is signed long term. It's entirely possible they can keep the group together for a while.

View attachment 35195
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Thanks for the post and info. A team might look at one of the receivers and think they could be an alpha if targeted more?

What about their offensive line? Lots of guys will want to eat???

They do have an excellent organization, shown by how they managed the Rodgers debacle with aplomb.
 

kg21 said:
30 -40% packer fans in the stadium yesterday?
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And all those Packer fans were confident they would see two things:
- Jacobs rolling over our defense.
- Packer pass rush rolling over our oline.

Neither happened. Instead, KOC and Flores said, "Bring it, we ain't going nowhere."
Three hours later Packers are the 7th seed. There may be doubt which team was more talented, but no doubt which team was better prepared. Coach of the Year and Asst Coach of the Year for a reason.
 

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