New head coach Pete Carroll might not be the only USC alum the Las Vegas Raiders bring in this offseason.
Appearing Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Adam Schefter of ESPN said that he anticipates the Raiders will make a run at veteran quarterback Sam Darnold in free agency.
“I think that the Raiders are going to make a play for Sam Darnold,” said Schefter. “I think Sam Darnold is going to be a candidate to be the Raiders quarterback. We’ll see whether Minnesota lets him go or not, but let’s see if that works out with Sam Darnold ending up in Vegas.”
The 27-year-old Darnold, known to this point of his career as a journeyman, had a stunningly good season for the Minnesota Vikings stepping in for the injured JJ McCarthy. He threw for a stout 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns as the Vikings won 14 games (their most since the 1998 season). But Darnold’s year came to an unfortunate end with a brutal Wild Card game defeat to the L.A. Rams in which he seemingly cost himself a lot of money in free agency.
Coming off a 4-13 finish in 2024, the Raiders have a big need at quarterback with the Gardner Minshew-Aidan O’Connell duo failing to move the needle for them this past season. Though Darnold is still expected to command a sizable amount of money, he could be a very realistic option in free agency for Las Vegas if Minnesota decides to hand over the keys to the 22-year-old McCarthy at QB.
