Drew Brees on Vikings Bringing Back Sam Darnold: 'That's not the Worst Thing in the World'

Darnold will enter free agency as the hottest quarterback on the market after coming off of a breakout season in 2024. The former No. 3 overall pick posted a Pro Bowl campaign after throwing for 35 touchdowns, 4,319 passing yards and a 102.5 passer rating.

However, his future in Minnesota is uncertain considering they have 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings and when factoring in that Darnold will likely command a huge contract.

"What I would probably expect is that he gets franchised," says Brees in a one-on-one interview while speaking on behalf of Sports Illustrated Tickets. "J.J. McCarthy they have on the cheap right now, obviously, because he's in the rookie contract. So in that case, you've got a bit of an insurance policy. You're also in a situation where both those guys can push one another."

"Obviously, if you're franchising Sam Donald, you're expecting him to be the starter, which means J. J. sits for another year," Brees continues to say. "That's not the worst thing in the world."

Brees himself didn't start during his rookie season after being drafted as the San Diego Chargers' future franchise quarterback in 2001. He sat behind veteran quarterback Doug Flutie before taking the reins during his second season in 2002.

The 13-time Pro Bowl quarterback argues that it could be beneficial for McCarthy - who is supposed to be the long-term answer at quarterback for the Vikings - to continue to sit behind Darnold as he develops.

"J. J. of all the quarterbacks who came out, he had a lot of experience in number of starts at Michigan," says Brees. "But that was a style of offense, it was fairly old school from the perspective of a lot of under center, just run. I think where he'll continue to grow is just in the drawback passing game and kind of like this Kevin O'Connell offense, which is a lot like Sean McVay, that West Coast version."

McCarthy wasn't exactly leaned upon heavily in the passing game to carry the Michigan Wolverines' attack during his tenure there, as Brees mentions. He threw just 332 pass attempts during his final season at Michigan, which pales in comparison to other first-round quarterbacks such as Bo Nix (470 attempts) and Drake Maye (425 attempts).

In fact, McCarthy started skyrocketing up draft boards as a potential early first round pick after the completion of his collegiate career due to his impressive NFL Combine performance.

The idea of McCarthy - who missed his entire rookie season due to an injury - sitting behind Darnold for a couple or a few seasons isn't unheard of. In fact, Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre for three seasons and Jordan Love did the same behind Rodgers before both emerged as franchise quarterbacks.

"I think J.J. could continue to benefit from the opportunity by working and sitting behind a veteran guy like Sam Darnold, pushing him, competing with him," says Brees. "If something happens to Sam Darnold, J.J. it's your turn, it's your opportunity. But let's not forget the fact that sitting and developing is OK."

"I just feel like they're gonna grow and develop more and more if they have a chance to sit behind a really good starter who can help them grow and develop," Brees continues to say. "A good system, a good coach."

Franchise tagging Darnold would cost over $41.3 million. By doing so, the Vikings would be committing to Darnold for one more season with the hopes of competing for a Super Bowl while making it clear they won't go with McCarthy for at least another season.

As one could argue, that would delay McCarthy's development - although it's been proven that it's not necessarily a hindrance for quarterbacks before they develop into franchise passers.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert states that it's unlikely that the Vikings use the franchise tag on Darnold and that a long-term contract isn't feasible.

Although Darnold led the Vikings to a robust 14-3 record and within a win over the Detroit Lions for the top seed in the NFC, he did not look over his final two games. Minnesota was blown out by a combined score of 58-18 and he was sacked 11 times, including nine in their playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell hasn't exactly committed to Darnold for 2025 and the quarterback himself recently said there's nothing "groundbreaking" to report and that he and the Vikings have had a "couple of conversations" regarding his future.

Regardless, Brees still sees the Vikings' window to win with Darnold open for at least one more season, which means Minnesota should try to bring him back.

"He certainly proved that he can be a guy that can win a lot of games for them and put them in a position to compete at a high level," says Brees. "I would assume they have room to franchise one and hang on, obviously JJ's locked up. You've got an insurance policy, 'cause as we know, things happen, somebody goes down. You still want to know you got a great chance to compete and win."

"I could see that happening," says Brees of Darnold being franchise tagged.

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