Is Sam Darnold going to earn a bigger pay day in 2025 with his performance over the final weeks of the 2024 NFL season? Kevin Patra identifies five players with a chance to cash in down the stretch.

As Madubuike can attest, fortunes can be made because of performance in a contract year. With the NFL regular season two-thirds of the way over, here are five players who have made good use of their contract year.

While it's still a remote possibility at the moment, we can't rule out a scenario where Smith winds up on another team next year. In a recent column previewing the 2025 NFL quarterback carousel, Brad Gagnon at Bleacher Report goes even further, predicting that Geno will sign with the New York Jets along with Sam Darnold.

The Vikings are rumored to be okay with losing Sam Darnold this offseason and transitioning to J.J. McCarthy if Darnold is a hot commodity.

Sam Darnold is “excited” about Daniel Jones’ next NFL chapter in Minnesota. On Wednesday, the same day it was reported the former Giants quarterback is signing with the Vikings, the team’s current signal-caller said he’s “very happy to be teammates with Jones,” who was released by Big Blue last Friday after five-and-a-half rollercoaster seasons.

Everything is pointing towards this being Sam Darnold's only season in a Minnesota Vikings uniform. Ever since rookie QB J.J. McCarthy impressed in training camp and then suffered a knee injury that ended his season before it began,

In the midst of Sam Darnold's breakout season with the Vikings, Minnesota added some QB insurance in the form of Daniel Jones.