The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason will turn white-hot in four weeks when free agency kicks off, and the franchise is expected to add more newcomers than in years past because of roughly $60 million in available cap space as of mid-February.
SI.Com’s Prediction for Vikings Sounds Absolutely Terrible
But between now and March is the time for predictions regarding the 2025 season. SI.com published a bold prediction for each NFL team this week, with Super Bowl LIX in the rearview, and for the Vikings, the QB1 outlook was pretty awful.
In short, Conor Orr boldly declared that quarterback J.J. McCarthy won’t be the QB1 entering training camp in July.
“The Vikings will not go into training camp with J.J. McCarthy as their projected starter. McCarthy is still in recovery mode from a torn meniscus and needs to get pro-ready weight and lower-body strength,” Orr wrote this week.
McCarthy is the oddsmakers’ darling to win the QB1 in 2025, so Orr’s prediction is indeed quite bold.
He added, “Kevin O’Connell’s new contract allows him to get behind McCarthy with some degree of financial security and sets the Vikings up on a sound path. However, O’Connell isn’t going to risk losing his most important asset early like he did a season ago.”
Orr did not mention the QB1 heading into training camp, but that man would likely be Sam Darnold, who quarterbacked the Vikings in 2025, or Daniel Jones, a man who joined the purple team late in the regular season after divorcing the New York Giants.
And if it’s not Darnold or Jones, well, all bets would be off, as Minnesota would’ve presumably signed a veteran quarterback from free agency or grabbed on via trade. Justin Fields, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, or Matthew Stafford would be the usual suspects for quarterbacks not named McCarthy, Darnold, or Jones to hold the QB1 title this summer.
McCarthy, meanwhile, spoke with Rich Eisen last week and has one request this offseason: he wants his chance to lead the franchise.
“There’s a lot of things that are certainly above my pay grade and some things above his pay grade,” McCarthy replied when asked about his teammate Sam Darnold’s impending free agency.
McCarthy told Eisen, “All I could ask for is a fair opportunity. That’s the one thing I feel like everybody’s given and it’s fundamental. When money gets involved, things get complicated and reps get skewed and there’s different things that come into the whole political world that everyone talks about. I really just have to focus on controlling what I can control.”
If McCarthy does not have a clear path to QB1 by the start of training camp, the theory uplifted by Orr, Minnesota would’ve basically ignored the young passer’s request from The Rich Eisen Show.
Most Vikings fans would dread a summer and regular season without McCarthy at the top of the ticket. Re-upping with Darnold or featuring Jones would continue the longstanding tradition of running it back with a retread quarterback. McCarthy is supposed to be the future and is Minnesota’s organically drafted asset.
McCarthy turned 22 last month.
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 Vikings 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.