ClutchPoints
Heading into the 2025 NFL calendar year, the Minnesota Vikings have some serious decisions to make regarding how they plan to rebuild their roster heading into the fall.
Priority number one? Deciding if and how to use the franchise tag.
With two players clearly on general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s radar, 2024’s most interesting player, Sam Darnold, and promising young cornerback Byron Murphy, the Vikings could agree to a long-term contract with either, allow them both to walk, or fall somewhere in between, including placing the tag on one or the other to kick that can down the road for one season longer.
Well, on Tuesday, the Vikings made the first decision in that larger team-building strategy, kicking Murphy’s void date back in a move that, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, tips their hands ever so slightly moving forward.
“Per a league source, the Vikings and CB Byron Murphy have agreed to push back the void date on his contract. Originally, the deal voided 23 days prior to the start of the league year (either today or tomorrow).
“Now, it’s the day before the start of the league year, which means Murphy cannot be franchised (since that date is past the deadline for teams to use the franchise tag),” Graziano wrote on social media.
“Interestingly, they did NOT reach the same agreement with QB Sam Darnold, whose contract still voids 23 days before the start of the league year. If they don’t do a new deal with Darnold before the contract voids, then $5 million in remaining signing bonus proration would accelerate onto their 2025 salary cap as dead money for Sam Darnold.
“Upshot here: They still CAN franchise Darnold but can’t franchise Murphy or Aaron Jones (who also pushed his void date back).”
Whoa, interesting stuff, right? Murphy is off the franchise tag board, and the Vikings can move forward knowing that Murphy may be back in Minnesota this fall, but it would not be for the mean cost of the top-five cornerbacks in the NFL or roughly $20.3 million, according to Over The Cap.
Granted, it’s worth debating if Murphy will be able to make more than that on the open market, as he’s one of the more interesting options at the position. But one thing is clear: if Murphy does return to Minnesota, it will be on a long-term deal, likely above the two-year, $17.5 million he’s currently on.
And as for Darnold? Well, do the Vikings know enough about his game to decide if he’s a true franchise quarterback? Or are they willing to pay out $41.3 million to give him one more year in Kevin O’Connell’s system, as if his incredible highs and shocking lows in 2024 weren’t enough to paint the complete picture of the USC product?
Fortunately or not, depending on your perspective, Vikings fans will find out soon enough, as the deadline to tag Darnold is March 4 with about a half-dozen NFL teams very carefully watching what Adofo-Mensah decides to do regarding...
