{"id":105547,"date":"2024-03-16T06:40:49","date_gmt":"2024-03-16T06:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=105547"},"modified":"2024-03-16T10:52:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T10:52:14","slug":"super-bowl-champion-sends-strong-message-on-vikings-sam-darnold-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/super-bowl-champion-sends-strong-message-on-vikings-sam-darnold-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Bowl Champion Sends Strong Message on Vikings\u2019 Sam Darnold"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Vikings\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Sam Darnold\u00a0is on his fourth team since the\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0drafted him with the NFL with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019. His next challenge is following\u00a0Kirk Cousins, who earned three of his four Pro Bowl selections in Minnesota, under center.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1829087334-e1710559548491.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The signing has received mixed reviews.<\/p>\n<p>However, count\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0tight end and three-time Super Bowl champion\u00a0Travis Kelce\u00a0among those who believe in Darnold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMinnesota news broke that the Vikings are signing former\u00a0Niners\u00a0quarterback Sam Darnold, which is a great signing for them,\u201d Kelce said on the \u201cNew Heights\u201d podcast, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, on March 13. \u201cI think Sam has got a lot of good football left in him as well. Had a tough scenario over there in\u00a0Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LIVE: Sam Darnold and Aaron Jones get introduced as the newest members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Vikings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Vikings<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HZ3flUDKDc\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/t.co\/HZ3flUDKDc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Vikings\/status\/1768384958056337577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Jets traded Darnold to the Panthers in 2021, and he earned the starting job out of training camp. An injury in Week 9 and a stint on injured reserve interrupted his season. But he returned to finish out the campaign as QB1.<\/p>\n<p>Darnold competed against now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Baker Mayfield\u00a0in camp the following season after the Pathers acquired the latter in a trade with the\u00a0Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n<p>An ankle injury knocked Darnold out, paving the way for Mayfield \u2013 and P.J. Walker \u2013 to start.<\/p>\n<p>Darnold returned off the bench in Week 9 of that season. He went on to complete 64.3% of his passes for 1,201 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions in five starts across seven appearances in the final nine games.<\/p>\n<h2>Kirk Cousins\u2019 Success With Vikings Could Bode Well for Sam Darnold<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4909845 visible aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1711865943-1-e1710559834139.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Kirk Cousins, Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4909845\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1711865943-1-e1710559834139.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4909845\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p>The 6-foot-2 passer spent last season backing up\u00a0Brock Purdy\u00a0in San Francisco under Head Coach\u00a0Kyle Shanahan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he\u2019s due for a comeback story man,\u201d Kelce said, later offering a word of advice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShout out to Darnold over there. Sammy getting paid and getting an opportunity. Dude, find\u00a0T.J. [Hockenson]. Hockey, Hockenson\u2019s gonna take you to the promised land, Sam. You find that tight end \u2013 87.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Vikings run a similar system to San Fran, where Donald was last year,\u201d retired Philadelphia Eagles center\u00a0Jason Kelce\u00a0said. \u201cThis is the second year in the same system. \u2026 Look at Kirk. Kirk\u2019s been in this offense \u2013 between his time with\u00a0Washington, to the Vikings, to now being down in\u00a0Atlanta\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s all this Shanahan-style offense, and he\u2019s proven to be really good in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Darnold could benefit in many of the same ways with Head Coach\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell\u00a0calling the plays and options like Hockenson and\u00a0Justin Jefferson\u00a0in the passing game.<\/p>\n<p>Jason Kelce did say he believes Cousins will be successful in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>The former Viking completed 69.5% of his passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions. His 291.4 passing yards per game led the NFL before he went down and lost his qualifying status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Travis Kelce Compares Aaron Jones to Jamaal Charles<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4909821 visible aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-617475338-e1710559148607.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Jamaal Charles, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4909821\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-617475338-e1710559148607.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4909821\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p>Travis Kelce compared\u00a0Aaron Jones\u00a0to former teammate,\u00a0Jamaal Charles, one of the premier backs of his era only to have his career deterred by injuries. Charles was a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.<\/p>\n<p>Jones arrives with one Pro Bowl to his credit. Could he be due for a bounce-back season after injuries interrupted his 2023 campaign?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never saw Aaron Jones ever leaving the\u00a0Packers, man,\u201d Kelce said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s still so good, man. What? That dude is one of the most fluent athletes I\u2019ve ever seen with the ball in his hands, man. \u2026 You know who he reminds me of? \u2026 Jamal Charles, how he would kind of weave. He really wasn\u2019t a put your foot in the ground, get vertical kind of guy. We would run inside zone, outside zone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe would just slither like a f****** snake at full speed, and it was unbelievable. He can get real skinny, had them slim hips, and just turn those shoulders a little bit, and f****** hit creases. It was f****** \u2026 poetry watching that dude running.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very similar to what Aaron Jones is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jones rushed for 656 yards and two touchdowns on 142 carries\u00a0for the Packers\u00a0last season; a 4.6 yard-per-carry average.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Vikings\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Sam Darnold\u00a0is on his fourth team since the\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0drafted him with the NFL with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019. His next challenge is&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}