Fans Might Need Extreme Patience with Vikings’ New QB
If Minnesota Vikings fans are excited about the J.J. McCarthy era, that’s more than fine — but they may need extreme patience.
Fans Might Need Extreme Patience with Vikings’ New QB
That’s the word from the Pioneer Press last weekend, as Charley Walters forecasted a “redshirt” year for McCarthy, meaning the man could be on deck for little to no playing time as a rookie.
“It will be a redshirt year for rookie QB J.J. McCarthy, with Sam Darnold the starter and Nick Mullens the backup. It appears the transition plan will be to turn the starting job over to McCarthy in 2025,” Walters wrote.
Generally speaking, the Walters declaration isn’t too surprising — Minnesota signed veteran passer Sam Darnold in March, and he’s shaping up as the QB1 to start the season. However, many have daydreamed and speculated about McCarthy’s in-season go-live date — anywhere from October to January — and the Pioneer Press reporting pumps the brakes on anything 2024-related.
And Walters’ reporting mimics the word last week from KFAN. Paul Allen, the voice of the Vikings, mentioned McCarthy’s stakes on his show. “I would make it prohibitively favored in that it would be Sam Darnold starting, Nick Mullens as the backup, and then J.J. McCarthy as the 3rd QB … But this is an opportunity for McCarthy,” Allen said on July 8th.
Allen added, “Puncher’s chance would be too strong, but long-ish shot fashion to win the two jobs in training camp. And I don’t necessarily know if it’s going to happen, but I would make 3 QBs on the active roster prohibitively favored.”
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah scooped McCarthy out of Round 1 with the 10th overall pick after a trade up the board with the New York Jets. It’s a new era in the Twin Cities, as Kirk Cousins left for the Atlanta Falcons in March. Naturally, fans want McCarthy to thrive sooner rather than later and would vocally endorse a rapid ascension to QB1 — not a QB3 relegation or redshirt year.
At minicamp, head coach Kevin O’Connell made it quite clear that Darnold would likely start in Week 1 for the purple team. O’Connell said about QB1 as Darnold’s gig to lose: “We haven’t had to put out a depth chart or anything like that, but I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based on the spring he’s had and, really, where he’s at in his career and his quarterback journey, and what he’s been able to do coming in and [hitting] the ground running and taking advantage of the competitive situation.”
And immediately after the draft, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert mentioned a checklist for McCarthy’s game-readiness. “The Vikings will follow an individualized development plan they created for each of the quarterbacks they considered drafting, one that requires McCarthy to hit specific benchmarks and gives coach Kevin O’Connell full authority to make the timing decision,” ESPN’s Kevin Seifert explained on April 26th.
Overall, it’s fair to wonder when McCarthy might see game action with the Vikings. But according to a couple of notable sources, the discussion might be a 2025 talker — not 2024.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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