No new tags as deadline passes … Today’s deadline for NFL teams to designate free agents to be as either franchise or transition players came and went without so much as a whimper. In fact, the big news of the day – and maybe the only news today – was that Minnesota did not franchise QB Sam Darnold. There had been speculation that the Vikings might try and either keep Darnold around for at least another year until they are sure about JJ McCarthy, whom they selected with the 10th pick in the 2024 draft with the tag, or perhaps try and work a tag and trade deal with Darnold. In fact, the Vikings reportedly intend to keep talking to Darnold over the next week about a possible short-term extension, but he officially becomes a free agent able to talk with other teams next week. And Darnold will certainly have other teams calling and where he ultimately ends up could have an impact on how the 2025 draft unfolds as several teams with early picks and big needs at QB are likely to be interested including Las Vegas and the NY Giants, the two teams that were all in on talks with Matt Stafford before he resigned with the LA Rams last week. In fact, the Raiders, who have the 6th pick, are generally considered the favorites to land Darnold, but clearly if he did end up with the Giants, who pick 3rd, or even Tennessee, which has the #1 pick, if they decided to take the top positional player or trade the pick for a nice package, that would shake things up at the top of the draft.
