3 former 49ers who won't live up to their new contracts
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Quarterback Sam Darnold (Vikings)
Contract: One year, $10 million ($8.75 million fully guaranteed)
In joining the 49ers as a free agent in 2023, quarterback Sam Darnold hoped to revitalize what has been a scuffling career with both the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, previously, despite the fact he'd assume a backup role to the Niners' own starter, Brock Purdy.
Darnold saw the field in limited action, playing in 10 games and even getting a start in a meaningless Week 18 bout while finishing the season 28-of-46 passing for 297 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
On his career, though, he owns a 59.7 completion percentage and a 63-to-56 touchdown-to-interception ratio, which are numbers indicative of a modest backup.
However, the Minnesota Vikings' one-year deal for him to replace their former starter, now-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, is in line with starter's cash.
Even if it's much more toward the bottom end of the starting quarterback spectrum.
Darnold is gambling on himself, but it's hard to see the Vikings' one-year experiment with him as anything more than a stopgap, and it's likely he'll have to settle as a career backup if 2024 winds up in a similar fashion to his prior years as a QB1.