Now Is The Time To Embrace the Vikings Obvious Quarterback Path
Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
After the Minnesota Vikings’ buzzkill playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round, their 14-3 regular season record went to shambles. Sam Darnold, who reinvented himself and was terrific through Week 17, mentally and physically short-circuited the last two games of the season, leading to blowout losses.
And so, the start of the 2025 offseason began. Once the dust settled, a floodgate of burning questions opened. Some of these major decisions included Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s extensions, their limited number of draft picks, 22 vacant roster spots, Harrison Smith’s potential retirement, and properly evaluating and valuing Darnold’s renaissance season.
Only one of those questions has been answered, with NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell inking a multi-year extension. Meanwhile, Kwesi’s extension has yet to manifest at a critical time in the offseason, as the NFL Combine started this week and the official start of the new league year is mere weeks away. Despite that, the Vikings are still operating as if it’s business as usual.
But make no mistake, the biggest question is who will be the Vikings’ starting quarterback in Week 1 with the byproduct of how the roster construction will be assembled based on that decision.
It is easy to get caught up in the moment when reflecting on a season where Darnold was fifth in yards (4,319) and touchdowns (35), and undoubtedly, the decision would be tougher if Darnold was able to take this team deep into the playoffs. But while it took a long time, the shoe unfortunately dropped. That shouldn’t take away too much from what was a special season — it was special. We can acknowledge that.
But we can also acknowledge that now is the perfect time to transition to J.J. McCarthy, and stick to a plan that was put into motion last season. The plan obviously took a hit after McCarthy’s meniscus injury (not an ACL tear, which many national experts were reporting), but it shouldn’t set them back too much as the meniscus is frequently viewed as less severe.
No one will argue that bringing Darnold back would solidify talent at the quarterback position, and guarantee a floor for Minnesota, but at what cost? Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and even Jalen Hurts were the driving forces behind multiple deep playoff runs, proving they’re worth with the hefty price of their contracts in offering higher ceilings than guaranteeing a floor. Darnold had a career season in a contract year, but he is obviously, not in the same realm as those premier players.
Darnold most assuredly will get paid north of $40 million per year, but that should not come from the Vikings. Teams like the Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and perhaps the Indianapolis Colts are teams in the market for a competent quarterback, and the supply isn’t meeting the demand in either free agency or the draft.
Holistically, with salary cap space and several vacant roster spots to fill, now is the time for the Vikings to put the original plan in motion and see what the team has in McCarthy. That will allow the team to properly leverage his rookie-scale contract and utilize the salary cap savings to surround him with impact players. This is ultimately why the team drafted him, and under O’Connell’s tutelage with a talented roster, McCarthy will have the ultimate infrastructure in place.
The Kansas City Chiefs were in a similar dilemma eight years ago when they drafted Mahomes in 2017 after the team went 43-21 under four seasons of Alex Smith, but couldn’t make it past the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Mahomes played the last game of his rookie year in the 2017 season, which ended when Smith led the Chiefs to another Wild Card loss.
No one is going to draw direct comparisons of McCarthy to Mahomes, but the focus should be more on the strategy the Chiefs organization took in recognizing that they needed more out of the position, traded up to pick 10 to draft their next quarterback, and basically had him sit a year.
Sound familiar?
Darnold had a great season, but McCarthy recently turned 22 years old and was hand-picked by O’Connell to be the franchise quarterback. There will be growing pains, but they might as well rip the bandaid off now and start the McCarthy Era. His NFL learning curve will not be as steep with being tutored in an O’Connell system for a year and has the mental makeup and physical tools that warranted the Vikings’ interest in him.
It is not out of the question to still franchise Sam Darnold, but only if there is a deal already in place to trade him for draft capital. It’d be smart to take advantage in the lack of supply but high demand for quarterbacks in the free agency marketplace.
Any talk about Aaron Rodgers, or even Kirk Cousins if he gets cut by the Atlanta Falcons would seem a bit short-sided. The team doesn’t need a bridge quarterback when the long-term vision should be built around McCarthy’s development and surrounding him with as much talent as possible during his rookie deal.
The Vikings will have an extremely active offseason ahead of them in free agency, the draft, and engineering a possible trade for Darnold, but to become perennial contenders in a very competitive NFC North, the team is best-served by moving on from a dream 2024 season and Sam Darnold and turning the page. There’s no need to look back when the future is already in the building.
Now is the time to embrace it.
Up Next