No Tag for Sam Darnold?

The Rant with Jeff Ratcliffe

Jeff Ratcliffe

Sports, Fantasy Sports, Football

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jeff pops in for a podcast quick slant to give his thoughts on the Minnesota Vikings looking unlikely to tag Sam Darnold. He discusses possible landing spots for Darnold if they don't reach a deal and both the short-term and long-term future for JJ McCarthy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	So we've reached the deadline day for the NFL franchise tag, and it'll be 4 o'clock Eastern today.
0:08.5	Last time you can apply the tag, we have T. Higgins, if you heard the previous podcast.
0:14.1	But there was a lot of questions as to whether or not Sam Darnal was going to get the tag,
0:18.7	and everything seems like the answer is going to be no.
0:23.2	The Minnesota Vikings will not tag him.
0:25.7	Now the latest news says that they are going to try and potentially negotiate a contract with him, a potential, I don't even know what that looks like.
0:35.3	Maybe it's a four-year deal, but really effectively a two-year deal with guaranteed money only through the first two years.
0:41.4	But I'll be honest, I don't know if that necessarily happens.
0:46.0	So what does that ultimately mean here?
0:49.0	There's a very real chance Sam Donald reaches free agency.
0:52.1	And I think there's really two things to this that we need to unpack. First and foremost, where could he possibly land? And then secondly, if he is gone, what does this look like for J.J. McCarthy? So let's talk about Donald first, and I will get into J.J. McCarthy. So with Sam Darnold, where could he possibly land? And let's just go through the 32 teams and see who
1:12.9	potentially needs a starter. You go to the AFC East, there's one team, right? It's the Jets.
1:19.7	That would be weird if he went back to the Jets. I don't think it's impossible, but it would be really
1:27.0	weird. And it would be such a bad look for the Jets, wouldn't it? impossible, but it would be really weird.
1:29.9	And it would be such a bad look for the Jets, wouldn't it?
1:35.6	Like, you drafted this dude, you prioritized a first round pick, high-end first-round pick.
1:37.0	You couldn't make it work.
1:41.5	You send him, he's a journeyman, and then he finally figures it out elsewhere, and then comes back. I mean, I guess the prodigal sun returns, but I don't see
1:45.0	that happening. AFC North, Pittsburgh is, is in play. I don't think Cleveland is in play
1:52.1	necessarily, but I guess we can't fully rule Cleveland out, but Pittsburgh would definitely
1:57.9	be in play if they decide to not resign Justin Fields and or Russell Wilson.
2:03.1	Well, it would be one or the other, not and or.
	...

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