PFF Names Vikings’ Top Offseason Roster Decision
The Minnesota Vikings have about five weeks of the offseason in the books, so far extending head coach Kevin O’Connell’s contract and welcoming back defensive coordinator Brian Flores for a third campaign.
PFF Names Vikings’ Top Offseason Roster Decision
In 3.5 weeks, free agency will overtake everything relating to Vikings football, and the 2025 NFL Draft is six weeks after that.
And according to Pro Football Focus, Minnesota’s top offseason roster decision is pretty simple: Who’s the QB1?
PFF’s Bradley Locker identified every NFL team’s main roster decision, and he wrote about the Vikings’ quarterback conundrum: “The Vikings are currently in the midst of what feels like a hypothetical philosophical dilemma: Keep your great, albeit more temporary player, or turn to the young one waiting in the wings.”
“After signing as a clear bridge option in Minnesota this past offseason, Darnold was superb, generating a career-best 77.5 PFF passing grade, ranking seventh among quarterbacks in PFF’s wins above replacement metric and fueling the Vikings’ shocking 14-3 season. The problem is that Minnesota drafted J.J. McCarthy 10th overall in 2024 and seems to be banking on him as the man under center for the long haul.”
Sportsbooks indicate McCarthy as the overwhelming favorite to lead Minnesota in 2025, while some fans still believe the franchise could re-up with Darnold on a short-term deal. Darnold can probably command around $40 million per year from his next employer, and right now, Minnesota’s salary cap isn’t necessarily designed to resume the Kirk Cousins era at quarterback — paying a good-but-not-elite passer mucho dinero.
Locker added, “Will general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah franchise-tag or extend Darnold, putting McCarthy’s future with the team in jeopardy, or will he eschew Darnold’s one-year contributions for the touted prospect? Given Adofo-Mensah’s history of shedding once-beloved players like Dalvin Cook and Za’Darius Smith on more expensive deals, handing the reins to McCarthy feels more probable, but it’s far from a straightforward choice.”
The Vikings could also apply the franchise tag and trade Darnold, though his trade value dipped tremendously after he played horribly in the season’s final two games.
PFF has it right that the QB1 is the meatiest offseason roster matter, but most believe McCarthy will be named QB1 when it’s all said and done, and that’ll be that.
Minnesota, too, could re-sign Daniel Jones in 2025. He might play “the Sam Darnold” role from 2024 — an experienced but affordable quarterback on the roster as McCarthy insurance.
NFL free agency kicks off on March 10th with “legal tampering.”
It’s Official on Brian Flores
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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