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00:00One guy we figure that might have been in line cap for a big payday was Sam Darnold.
00:04Two underwhelming performances to end the season.
00:06What are we looking at?
00:07Maybe coming back to Minnesota on a discount?
00:09Is he a free agent?
00:10And really, how much money is he going to get?
00:13Yeah, he was a free agent, Donny.
00:14He was a one-year deal with up to $10 million.
00:16I talked to some personal people this week.
00:20They don't want to dig them too hard for the final two games,
00:22which are obviously not very good.
00:24It's the totality of the season.
00:25And in a year, Donny, which could be historically bad for free agency,
00:30Darnold is clearly the top guy.
00:31Other than that, they're a bunch of journeyman quarterbacks.
00:34We've got the Kirk Cousins situation, who's under contract with Atlanta,
00:37who has some value in a trade.
00:38But that's entirely different because he's not a free agent,
00:42but he would be available, obviously, because he got benched.
00:45But getting back to Sam Darnold, this guy, and I just voted for him as
00:48most-approved player for Pro Football Writers Association,
00:52most-approved offensive player.
00:53Like, this guy came out of nowhere like Geno Smith did
00:55a couple years ago with the Seahawks.
00:57So the kind of deal that if the Vikings don't bring him back
01:02and they just go with JG McCarthy, it's going to be more of a bridge deal.
01:07I don't see him getting $45, $50 million,
01:09which I know some people are speculating it's not going to happen.
01:13The deal to take a look at, there are a couple of deals.
01:15The first one, we'll talk more about this in future weeks
01:17when we get closer to free agency.
01:19But the deal to take a look at is Baker Mayfield,
01:21somewhere in around $32, $33 million a year.
01:25But we call this escape hatch.
01:26You've got to be able to get out of the contract.
01:28If the guy doesn't play well after two years,
01:30you've got to be able to trade him or cut him, and it doesn't hurt your cap.
01:33And the structure on Mayfield's deal, which I looked at about a week ago,
01:36and I have detailed notes on it,
01:38the Bucs could easily get out of it after two years.
01:40Not that they're going to want to.
01:41He was incredible this season.
01:43One of the most-approved players in the National Football League, as is Darnold.
01:46But you have to be careful for the commitment, Donny,
01:48because when guys come out of nowhere at quarterback,
01:51you have to scratch your head.
01:52Like, why is this happening?
01:53Obviously, great coaching from Liam Cohen.
01:56There's no doubt about it.
01:57Excuse me, by Kevin O'Connell, Liam Cohen coached Baker Mayfield.
02:00But Kevin O'Connell did a great job, the quarterback whisperer.
02:03But you don't want to just pay a guy off of one season.
02:06That's why he's not getting $50 million or more.
02:08That's not going to happen.