Sam Darnold spoke to reporters for the first time on Thursday afternoon at TCO Performance Center.
He answered every question with the professionalism of a veteran. He expressed gratitude to the Vikings for signing him to a one-year, $10 million deal. He lauded the expertise of head coach Kevin O’Connell. He heaped praise on his new teammates even though he has yet to meet most of them.
There’s no doubt Darnold carries himself as a franchise quarterback off the field. Now the next step for him is carrying himself like a franchise quarterback on the field.
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That’s been an issue for him since being selected by the New York Jets with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. He has a 21-35 record as a starter having also played for the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers. This will likely be Darnold’s last chance to prove himself.
Asked about how he’s approaching everything at this point in his career, Darnold replied, “Just excited to be able to compete.” His biggest competition could very well come next month if the Vikings decide to take a rookie quarterback in the draft.
“No matter what happens I’m going to compete,” Darnold said. “Just excited for the opportunity to do that.”
It helps that Darnold will get to work alongside O’Connell throughout the process. There’s also a connection between Darnold and new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. They were teammates back when Darnold was a New York Jets rookie, and that pre-existing relationship should help him hit the ground running.
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“He’s amazing,” Darnold said. “It’s going to be fun to be able to work with him being able to talk about what we want to do fundamentally in this offense and kind of build on what I’ve been doing.”
The most growth Darnold has shown as a pro came last season when the 49ers made him their backup to Brock Purdy. The lessons that Darnold learned from head coach Kyle Shanahan were invaluable in his development. That showed up on the film in a very small sample size, and O’Connell acknowledged that he’s excited to keep the ball rolling.
“It’s something I’m very much looking forward to,” O’Connell said. “I think he still has his best football out in front of him.”
If he wins the starting job out of training camp, which he will have the inside track at doing, this will be the most talent Darnold has ever had around him. He will get to hand the ball off to running back Aaron Jones. He will get to throw to star receiver Justin Jefferson. He will have tight end T.J. Hockenson as a security blanket.
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Not that he’s getting too far ahead of himself.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be put in before we can say anything about winning a lot of games,” Darnold said. “I know that, and I’m very willing to put that work in.”
Briefly
In a pair of depth moves, the Vikings signed defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, then receiver Trent Sherfield. Both players should work themselves into a role on their respective side of the field.
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