He thinks Sam Darnold will be back with the Minnesota Vikings, but he also thinks J.J. McCarthy will get a chance to start.
Justin Jefferson Predicts Sam Darnold’s Next Team
That’s the have-it-both-ways — some might say, diplomatic — prediction from wide receiver Justin Jefferson on his team’s quarterback situation heading into the 2025 offseason.
“Having Sam being in there the whole season this past year, having 14 wins, bringing us to the playoffs, that just doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t just get a quarterback off the couch, and he can come and win 14 games for you. So you definitely have to keep that in the back of your mind, also,” Jefferson said Thursday at the Super Bowl’s radio row, speaking with Yahoo Sports.
“I feel like we’re gonna bring Sam back. I’m not sure, though, so don’t take my word for it. But I think it would be good to have him back and to build and see where it goes. But I definitely think J.J. is gonna have his opportunity. I don’t know.”
Before blundering in Minnesota’s final two games of the 2024 campaign, Darnold provided MVP numbers for the Vikings, tossing 35 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions with 4,319 passing yards. Meanwhile, Jefferson’s team has McCarthy waiting to take over as QB1; it’s just a matter of when on McCarthy, who tore his meniscus last August and missed the entire year.
Jefferson spoke highly of McCarthy, too: “J.J., I feel like he’s definitely gonna get his shot and get his opportunity to do something and see where it goes. Just seeing how he was performing before he got injured, it was definitely looking pretty good. You have to give your first-round pick an opportunity. That’s a must. And that goes with practice, training camp, OTAs, that position battle is gonna happen, regardless.”
The phenom wide receiver concluded, “It doesn’t really matter who’s gonna be throwing me the ball. I’m still gonna go out there and perform and still try to be my best, regardless of who’s throwing the ball, if I’m double covered. I’m gonna make the most of my opportunities.”
The elephant in the room regarding the Vikings’ quarterback decision? Money. Darnold can probably fetch a contract worth $35-$45 million annually via free agency, and Minnesota just ended an era with Kirk Cousins when it paid a good-but-not-elite quarterback top dollar while hoping to fill out a Super Bowl roster. McCarthy was supposed to provide five years of optimal team-building, playing on a rookie contract through the end of the 2028 season.
Re-signing Darnold would plop the Vikings right back into the Cousins era of roster construction, searching free agency for bargain-bin players.
But Jefferson seems to think there’s a way to have it both ways: Pay Darnold while accepting that McCarthy will ultimately take the QB1 job at some point.
Or maybe he’s just a judicious talker. Last year, Jefferson predicted Cousins would return to Minnesota, but he left via free agency to the Atlanta Falcons five weeks later.
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.