The Minnesota Vikings haven’t exactly shied away from saying that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be able to battle for the starting job when training camp begins, but the Vikings’ brass has also been very loud in saying they don’t want to rush McCarthy. Head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed Sam Darnold was QB1 entering training camp and there has been some noise that McCarthy may actually be QB3 so he can learn the system in his first season.
Darnold, the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, was signed to a one-year deal by the Vikings this past offseason after spending time in San Francisco behind Brock Purdy. Darnold is hoping to resurrect his career like Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield have done so in the past two seasons. Darnold will have the most talent he’s ever had around him as the starting quarterback. No offense to the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers, but neither team had a Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, or TJ Hockenson when Darnold was with those two teams.
With so much talent, a steady offensive line, and a good running back situation — after signing Aaron Jones from the Packers — there is a scenario that Darnold does have a breakout year and starts the entire season for Minnesota. But there are also two other scenarios. The first is that Darnold does Darnold things and isn’t that good for the Vikings and they are forced to play McCarthy early in hopes of turning the season around, or just getting him some playing time if the season is already over. And the third scenario is that Darnold plays so well for Minnesota, a playoff contender wants to rent him for the rest of the season.
Conor Orr with Sports Illustrated came out with 100 predictions for the 2024 NFL season. He predicts that Darnold will be traded away before the deadline and it will pave the path for McCarthy to become the Minnesota starter.
