Imagine sitting around with your buddy in, say, 2048, and talking about the Hall of Fame credentials for Sam Darnold. Sure, he put up quarterback stats that had only placed him on the border of Canton, Ohio, up to that point–obviously, since he retired in 2038 and still wasn’t in–but he did lead the Vikings to Super Bowl victories following the 2024 and 2027 seasons–something no quarterback–not even Fran Tarkenton–had ever done.

It sure sounds like I’m describing a career similar to Jim Plunkett, the 1970 Heisman Trophy winner who the Patriots made the top pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. Plunkett then spent the next seven seasons trying to establish himself as an NFL quarterback for two awful teams. After five years of futility in New England, Plunkett was traded to the 49ers, who thought so much of his talents that they gave the Patriots multiple first-round picks in return. San Francisco was even worse than New England during Plunkett’s time there, and he was eventually released and picked up by the Raiders prior to the 1978 season. Unlike his first two employers, the Raiders, one of the marquee teams in the NFL at the time, weren’t expecting anything from Plunkett but to be their backup quarterback. Plunkett served in that role over the next two seasons and was supposed to remain the backup in 1980 thanks to a trade that sent the legendary Kenny Stabler to the Oilers in exchange for the slightly younger Dan Pastorini. But Pastorini suffered a fractured leg early in the ’80 campaign, and the rest, as they say, is history. Plunkett led the Raiders to a wildcard seed and, eventually, their second Lombardi Trophy, thanks to a 27-10 victory over the Eagles in Super Bowl XV. Plunkett was voted the Super Bowl MVP and the 1980 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Plunkett again led the Raiders–this time, in Los Angeles after moving there in 1982–to a third Lombardi Trophy following the 1983 campaign. Plunkett remained the Raiders starter over the next few seasons.  Sadly, age and injuries finally caught up to him, and he was forced to retire after missing all of 1987 following rotator cuff surgery. All-in-all, Plunkett finished his career with 25,882 yards, 164 touchdowns and 198 interceptions. Sure, not the greatest stats, but they were pretty good for the time. Besides, most of his “bad” numbers occurred when he played for the Patriots and 49ers. Should Plunkett be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? It’s a debate that still rages on today.

Hey, why such a lengthy paragraph about Jim Plunkett in an article about Sam Darnold?

Because Plunkett was a high-pedigreed and highly decorated college quarterback who was given multiple chances to prove he had the talent to excel while playing the most important position in team sports at the highest level.

He eventually did.

Darnold, the third pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, is now on chance No. 4 to prove himself, this time as a member of the Vikings.

Most football fans began hearing about Darnold in 2016 when he was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and won the Archie Griffin Award. Darnold quickly became the consensus NFL franchise quarterback of the future.

The 2018 quarterback draft class was a strong one, however, and scouts and fans started falling in love with the talents and measurements of other passing prospects–including Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen.

Mayfield went first to the Browns, Allen went seventh to the Bills, and Rosen went 10th to the Cardinals. The Jets made Darnold the third pick of the draft, and he quickly became the youngest opening-day starting quarterback since the merger. Mayfield got the most love early on, while Lamar Jackson, the 32nd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, was voted league MVP in 2019. To say Darnold struggled in New York is an understatement. In fact, the thing he was most known for during his time with the Jets was “seeing ghosts” while mic’d up for a 33-0 blowout loss to New England in 2019.

The Jets decided to move on from Darnold after the 2020 campaign and shipped him off to the Panthers, who quickly picked up the fifth-year option of his rookie contract that guaranteed him over $18 million for the 2022 season. Darnold continued to struggle as a member of the Panthers, however, and didn’t even begin ’22 as the starting quarterback. Why? That offseason, Carolina traded for Mayfield, the Browns’ controversial quarterback who had fallen out of favor in Cleveland, and the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner beat out Darnold for the starting job in the preseason.

But the Carolina situation was a Dumpster fire for everyone involved, including Mayfield who was released and wound up with the Rams by season’s end.

Darnold signed a one-year deal with the 49ers during the 2023 offseason and eventually won the backup quarterback job behind Brock Purdy.

That brings us to 2024 and the Vikings.

Why have so many teams given Darnold a chance (he’s with his fourth in seven seasons)? Because the coaches and scouts see the size (6-3 and 225 pounds). They see the arm strength. They see the underrated mobility. Darnold looks like the prototypical franchise passer. If you needed someone to play a quarterback in a movie, Darnold would be a great candidate.

Not only is Darnold in Minnesota, but he has yet another chance to show the football world that he has what it takes to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. This latest audition came about after the Vikings’ first preseason game when J.J. McCarthy, the 10th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, suffered a season-ending meniscus injury.

Darnold is now slated to be Minnesota’s starting quarterback in 2024.

What happens if Darnold balls out? What a great problem for the Vikings to have, right? More importantly for him, what a great problem for Darnold, 27, to have.

Darnold will be a free agent again in 2025, so either the Vikings would have to sign him to a multi-year deal–unlikely with McCarthy on Year 2 of his rookie contract–franchise tag him to the tune of at least $38 million in guaranteed money or let him become a free agent.

If Darnold becomes a free agent after one season of balling out, cha-ching!

In other words, Darnold will continue to fill his coffers with generational wealth. If you weren’t paying attention to that last sentence, “continue” did a lot of heavy lifting. Why? Because, according to Spotrac, Darnold has already earned over $55 million during his career.

That’s a lot of money for someone with just over 12,000 career passing yards, 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions.

Darnold may never reach Plunkett’s level on the football field, but I’ll bet Plunkett would love to reach Darnold’s level at the bank.

Darnold has yet to sign a mega deal on par with Allen or Jackson, but he’s already made enough money on potential alone that his great-grandchildren will never go hungry.

Darnold is still young enough to garner a few more chances even if he doesn’t ball out this year.

There aren’t many good quarterbacks in the NFL, let alone great ones. Teams will hire anyone who even looks like they might be good one day.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Fortunately for him, Sam Darnold is a high-pedigreed quarterback who was highly decorated in college. He’ll now be given 17 more games to prove he has the talent to excel at the most important position in team sports while playing at the highest level.

Maybe he will this time.