Giants have to think twice before approaching Sam Darnold this offseason

That Week 17 win against the Indianapolis Colts looks to be hurting the New York Giants’ quest in finding a quarterback this offseason more and more.

Dropping from the No. 1 overall pick to No. 3 in the final two weeks of the regular season, the Giants are picking behind two teams that need quarterbacks.

The Tennessee Titans have to move on from Will Levis after his miserable season and the Cleveland Browns are likely to take a passer, too, after Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles and will miss the entire 2025 season.

Considering the draft has only two top-tier quarterback talents in Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward — at least as of right now before pre-draft panic has teams overvaluing prospects — the Giants stand to lose out.

It would force them to pivot to free agency where Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was projected to lead the class of available passers on the open market. The former No. 3 overall pick of the New York Jets appeared to finally put it all together this season after he was thrust into the starter’s role when rookie JJ McCarthy went down with a season-ending injury in preseason.

The 27-year-old Darnold passed for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, setting him up perfectly for a lucrative payday this offseason with teams like the Giants starving for a competent option under center.

General manager Joe Schoen might have to think twice about approaching Darnold, now.

Dec 15, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, center, on the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Minnesota’s 14-3 regular season came to a crashing halt in the playoffs when they were upset by the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, 27-9, and Darnold was a liability rather than his team’s talisman.

He was sacked nine times by the Rams’ defense — completely befuddled by their man coverage scheme on defense. While the offensive line usually gets the blame for such a night, Darnold was sacked six times after holding onto the ball for 4.4 seconds or more.

One of the most damaging takedowns came with 4:35 to go in the second quarter of a 10-3 game. Darnold held the ball for too long, once again, and was sacked by Akhello Witherspoon. The ball popped out and was scooped up by Jared Verse, who returned it 57 yards for a gamebreaking touchdown. He was also intercepted by Cobie Durant in that nightmare first half.

He finished the day with 245 yards on 25 of 40 passing — a second-straight bad outing after being limited to 166 yards on 18 of 41 passing in a Week 18 31-9 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

“I clearly haven’t played good enough the last couple of weeks,” Darnold said. “Just like I said, left too many throws out there that I would usually make. Gotta take better care of the football.”

His next opportunity to try and take better care of the football is unknown, though. The last two weeks did not help to make a case that he should get a big contract to start somewhere else.

Especially for a Giants team that failed to develop Daniel Jones and need a slam dunk under center to turn the franchise’s fortunes around, investing in Darnold would be a dangerous move for Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, who are already on thin ice with ownership.

For more on the Giants and Sam Darnold, visit AMNY.com

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