Vikings Giving Fans What They Want at QB on Saturday
The Minnesota Vikings are set to break in at least one new quarterback for the 2024 season. With Kirk Cousins in Atlanta, it’s a guarantee that there will be a new signal caller under center. Who, for how long, and when are all questions. Saturday, though, should be prime viewing for fans.
Vikings Giving Fans What They Want at QB on Saturday
When the Minnesota Vikings reached an agreement with Sam Darnold this offseason, it was with the intention that he could operate as a bridge quarterback. The entire premise behind grabbing Darnold was that an eventual successor would be brought in with the hopes of creating a franchise quarterback. That didn’t take long, as J.J. McCarthy was deemed the answer in the 2024 NFL Draft.
How their initial playing time shakes out for Darnold and McCarthy remains to be seen. Plenty of chatter from both camps suggests good and bad days. Of course, the veteran should be assumed to have a leg up, given the previous experience, but that doesn’t mean McCarthy can’t lay his claim. All of that now starts on Saturday.
Typically, veteran quarterbacks don’t get much preseason action, and certainly not during the first game. Darnold, though, is not established with his new team and hasn’t been cemented with a given status. Kevin O’Connell plans to roll out the top of his depth chart against the Las Vegas Raiders, and we’ll have an idea of what Darnold looks like outside of New York and Carolina.
Preseason won’t be where we find out if Darnold will work in Minnesota, but it can be a start. The bulk of the work should go to McCarthy, who will take the field in an NFL game for the first time. Seeing how he operates at game speed and against other professionals will be something to focus on. He has shown well at times in practice, but doing it on the biggest stage will give us a glimpse into his immediate development.
If McCarthy is going to wrangle the starting role from Darnold sooner rather than later, putting up strong preseason performances is a must. He will have every opportunity to build momentum on Saturday, even if he is doing it without Justin Jefferson.
Rather than play Nick Mullens and see what a veteran backup does, O’Connell also mentioned that Jaren Hall will get run. He is a forgotten asset with McCarthy now in the building, but finding out how the year helped him grow over the offseason will be intriguing. The Vikings probably don’t need to worry about his development from a career standpoint anymore, but proving to be a capable backup would be good to see.
Minnesota doesn’t have to care about the end result, but watching the quarterbacks will be a must-see.
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Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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