Sam Darnold’s future has very much been in the balance over the course of the past 48 hours since the Minnesota Vikings‘ upset loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. Once considered to be $50 million/year quarterback prior to his final two highly disappointing games of the season,

At the dawn of the new year, Sam Darnold was a folk hero in Minnesota. Not only did the quarterback -- no longer locally branded a reclamation project, but rather a full-blown, high-octane Pro Bowler -- sweep the rival Green Bay Packers to give the Vikings their best regular-season record in 16 years,

Sam Darnold closed out 2024 as one of the feel-good NFL stories of the year. The 27-year-old journeyman had led Minnesota to a 14-2 record ahead of a Week 18 showdown against the Detroit Lions that would decide the No.