Schrager’s Cheat Sheet: What’s next for Sam Darnold? Who wants Jets’ GM job?

Peter Schrager

NFL Insider & NFL Reporter

Every week, FOX Sports NFL Insider Peter Schrager opens his notebook and opines on three of the biggest storylines around the league. Here are his takes heading into Week 17, including how the Vikings might handle Sam Darnold’s contract this offseason, the names connected to the Jets‘ vacant general manager position and why Michael Vick will succeed at Norfolk State.

What to do with Darnold?

The biggest offseason decision for any team this year might very well be what the Minnesota Vikings decide to do with Sam Darnold. What a blessing it will be to even face such a decision, considering the stones it took the franchise to even get to this point. The same week Kirk Cousins — the quarterback the Vikings boldly walked away from last year — was benched for a rookie in Atlanta, Sam Darnold marched his team to another game-winning drive in which Minnesota notched its 13th victory of the season. Darnold’s campaign has been incredible. Darnold became just the third veteran QB in NFL history to win 13 games in his first season with a new team. The other two on that list — Steve McNair in 2006 with Baltimore and Peyton Manning in 2012 with Denver — were viewed as two of the biggest free-agent signings in NFL history. Darnold’s inking of a 1-year, $10 million deal was by no means that. If anything, Darnold knew full well the job was his for the start of training camp, but was in no way promised a full season’s worth of starts. When J.J. McCarthy went down with a preseason game injury, a lot of hope was lost for the national media following the Vikings. That includes me, who didn’t have Minnesota making the postseason in my annual September predictions. But find me someone who did.

What Darnold’s done this season is nothing short of unprecedented. And he’s only getting better. Darnold has 12 games this season with a passer rating above 100. It’s the most in Vikings history. It’s also the most since 2020, when Aaron Rodgers — the league MVP — had more.

If you’re waiting until the playoffs for the other shoe to drop, that’s fine. The Vikings might very well lose their first-round game if they have to go on the road and play in Los Angeles, Atlanta or Tampa Bay. Or, they could win the division, secure the No. 1 seed and potentially fall to a team at home in the divisional round. But I don’t think what happens in January has prohibited the Vikings from starting internal conversations on how they want to handle this when the time comes. They’ve got three options, really.

1. Sign Darnold to a long-term deal. Sorry J.J. McCarthy. That’s life. It happens. The Vikings could keep both QBs on the roster — even with Darnold making mega bucks — because McCarthy’s rookie contract won’t kill the salary cap for the next few years. Unknowingly, this could be more like the Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love situation in Green Bay than a veteran QB place-holder/rookie QB type situation many expected back in April when the Vikings traded up to land McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft.

2. Franchise tag Darnold. This could be the most likely way this whole thing plays out. Darnold gets paid for a year, McCarthy gets a healthy year to practice with Darnold as QB1, and after Darnold gets paid massive money for one season, we revisit all this a year from now.

3. Let Darnold walk. When Minnesota laid out their long-term plan as they looked at the 2024 QB room, they certainly did not budget a scenario where Darnold would be in demand of $80-100 million dollars after his contract was fulfilled. It’s unlikely, but perhaps Darnold’s price tag gets too high or the Vikings have enough faith in McCarthy’s return to health and promise as a QB1, that they’d let Darnold walk. There will be suitors. Many.

The irony of all of this is that, of course, two of Darnold’s former teams have even more dramatic QB decisions to make over the coming months. The Jets need to decide what to do with Aaron Rodgers and the 49ers need to figure out how they want to compensate Brock Purdy, if at all, over the long term. If you’re asking me now, I’d say Sam Darnold is a Viking next season. And the Vikings brass are more than fine making these hard decisions once this miracle season comes to an end.

Jets’ search for a GM

The New York Jets have completed interviews with three different general manager candidates so far. Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy, Thomas Dimitroff and Jon Robinson have all sat down with Jets leadership. Though I don’t think any are leaders in the clubhouse for the job, it does show that the Jets are using this time wisely, lifting and uncovering any possible stone to get the most information and thoughts possible. New York can’t interview any candidates with a current team until after the regular season comes to an end. I’d expect ESPN’s Louis Riddick to have an interview this week, which could offer even more insight into what direction they want to go, considering Riddick not only has an NFL background as a scout but also calls games on the NFL and college level. The one thing, per sources familiar with the opening, that keeps coming up is what the GM candidates would do with the quarterback situation. Sounds rather obvious, but there are layers to it. Aaron Rodgers is a well-liked teammate and has shown flashes over the next few weeks. But his two years in New York do mark a different time and place for a team that might be looking to do a complete and utter reset. Either way, Rodgers and his recently acquired teammate, Davante Adams, might have to be open to a pay cut if they are, indeed, back next season.

In addition to QB, coaching staff preferences and how the new front office would handle the futures of their loaded 2022 NFL Draft class will be of great importance for whoever comes in and gets the job. Currently, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Jermaine Johnson are entering their fourth seasons in the league and are eligible for contract extensions. How do you manage all four players, and do so without toxicity, jealousy and whatever else comes with paying guys their second contracts at the same time seeping into the walls? There have been no shortage of negative articles written about the Jets in recent weeks — take them for what they are — but the job is still seen as a very desirable one. The salary cap situation is in good shape, the Jets have four of their five offensive linemen solidified up front, and there’s a bevy of young, talented players on the roster. There’s also not expected to be many GM jobs available this offseason. This all leads to a strong list of expected candidates. I’d imagine a few more people currently without NFL jobs to get looks over the coming weeks, and then a list of names that includes Ray Agnew from Detroit, Mike Borgonzi from Kansas City and Mike Greenberg from Tampa Bay. By getting a nice two-month head start, the Jets have hit the ground running.

Two cheers for Michael Vick

I just wanted to shout out Michael Vick for his head–first dive into a new adventure. Mike has been my colleague and castmate on “FOX NFL Kickoff” for the last eight seasons and on Sunday, we had a tearful moment as he said farewell to our show and told a national audience he’d be returning to college football, where he’d be taking over as the new head coach of Norfolk State. Michael is humble, grounded and respected by his peers. On set, he offers football takes and connects with the younger generation of players in a way few other quarterbacks outside of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning can. A generation of today’s best QBs grew up in an era when Vick was the coolest, most unique player in the game. Yet, he doesn’t pride himself on what he was or how many commercials he did. He prides himself on the relationships he’s made and the humanity he has. Every Sunday for the last 8 seasons, Mike Vick, Charles Woodson and I would wake up at 4:15 am P.T., and ride over to the FOX lot to do our morning show with Charissa Thompson and a rotation of others, including our current castmate Julian Edelman. You can see the worst in someone at those hours, but Mike is never anything but upbeat, positive and ready to make the most of whatever the rest of his life has in store for him. I don’t know if he has the X and O’s of a Chip Kelly or Bill Belichick or the salesmanship of a Lane Kiffin or a Dabo Swinney, but I know Vick has the real-life experience, the heart and the dedication to a craft to make this work at Norfolk State. Go Spartans. And go Mike Vick.