There Are Still Reasons For Optimism In Minnesota
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings made history on Wednesday. Just not in a good way. J.J. McCarthy was officially ruled out for the rest of the season with a right meniscus tear. That makes Minnesota the first team in the common draft era that drafted a first-round quarterback who ended up missing his entire rookie season due to injury. It’s devastating news for a Vikings fan base that was eager to get a glimpse of their new franchise quarterback following a tumultuous 2023 season, where everything went downhill after Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles at Lambeau Field.
It’s also perhaps THE Most Vikings Thing Ever.
Once Cousins left for Atlanta in free agency, Minnesota replaced him with former third-overall pick Sam Darnold to be their bridge quarterback. However, many fans were expecting McCarthy to eventually take over as the starter once he met certain benchmarks established by the coaching staff. After an impressive start to training camp, McCarthy won over the hearts of the fan base and the hype surrounding him continued to skyrocket.
That glimpse of a bright future makes McCarthy’s season-ending injury all the more heartbreaking. For a lot of people, their shiny new QB was the main reason why they were looking forward to this upcoming season. Now that he’s out of the picture, it’s easy to feel like there’s nothing to be excited about. Don’t despair, though! There are still reasons to be optimistic about the Vikings in 2024.
That’s not to say negative feelings should be invalidated. Between the sudden and unexpected passing of Khyree Jackson, to Jordan Addison being carted off the field on Wednesday, and everything in between, this offseason has delivered one gut punch after another. It’s perfectly okay to feel slightly depressed about all the horrible things that have happened over the summer. I’m not gonna blame anyone for having a poor outlook on this season.
Although you can always count on Minnesota teams to bring endless misfortune, the wonderful thing about the Vikings in particular is that they almost always give you delayed devastation. Not a soul on planet Earth had Josh Dobbs doing a Lin-sanity run on their Bingo cards heading into the 2023 season. But it happened! And my god, that three-week period was a ton of fun injected into an otherwise bleak season.
Even in 2017, when there was a quarterback carousel with Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikings still managed to win 13 games and made it to the NFC Championship Game. This franchise always perseveres through moments of uncertainty. For that reason alone, you can never truly count this team out.
While fun moments like that are unpredictable, what we can do is project how well this team will play in 2024. Last time I checked, there’s still plenty of talent on this roster. They have an offense that’s built for success, complete with:
- Two bookend offensive tackles in Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill
- Ascending young wideout Jordan Addison paired with…
- The best wide receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson
- Top-five tight end T.J. Hockenson
- An improved rushing attack led by Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler.
Defensively, the Vikings improved their depth at linebacker. Last year, the Vikings could only rely on Danielle Hunter to succeed on the outside. Even with his departure, they still added Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and potential Defensive Rookie of the Year Dallas Turner. The team also signed ILB Blake Cashman to pair with Ivan Pace Jr., and are moving toward adding Stephon Gilmore to start alongside Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy at cornerback.
To top it all off, rookie kicker Will Reichard has stood out this offseason and has a legitimate chance at bringing a calming sense of stability to a team that has been cursed throughout the years with special teams woes. Also, punter Ryan Wright – who was one of the better punters in the NFL during his rookie season in 2022 — is poised to rebound after a sophomore slump.
For years, the Vikings would find ways to remain competitive, even with below-average starting quarterbacks. Minnesota’s identity in the early Zimmer era was built on their defense and run game, and those two areas are the most improved entering 2024. If the Vikings can field a stout defense and running game this season, it wouldn’t be surprising for this to win eight or nine games.
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