Report Reveals Vikings’ Real Plan at QB
When the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason kicked off, as immediately as January, onlookers wondered what the organization would do at quarterback, facing a decision of promoting J.J. McCarthy, re-signing Sam Darnold, or keeping Daniel Jones just in case as a “patchover” quarterback.
The Vikings promoted J.J. McCarthy this offseason — but a new revelation uplifts the full quarterback plan runs deeper than most folks know.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah ultimately chose the first option, nominating McCarthy as his QB1 and later trading for Sam Howell during the 2025 NFL Draft.
And thanks to SI.com‘s Albert Breer this week, a bit more is known about Minnesota’s offseason thought process.
Vikings True QB Plan Clarified by Albert Breer
Breer published an article this week about takeaways from NFL minicamps, but for the Vikings, the piece served as a detailed look back at Minnesota’s offseason.
He wrote, “That’s with a young core made up of Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Dallas Turner and, they hope, McCarthy. If Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones had come back (the Vikings tried on both), those would’ve been, essentially, one-year deals to give the team some insurance with a 14-win group returning.”
“The reason they didn’t go after Rodgers was that getting him, conversely, would’ve been hitting the pause button on making McCarthy their quarterback for a year. Which underscores the most important part of this — they won’t be asking the world of McCarthy. He can just go play quarterback, which is the way you usually see young guys at his position win.”
The paragraphs clarified the would-be roles for Darnold or Jones — insurance.
Sam Darnold + Daniel Jones as Insurance — Not Starters
Until this week, some Vikings fans still believed the franchise wanted Darnold back as the QB1, with the false understanding that Adofo-Mensah intentionally low-balled Darnold, causing him to choose the Seattle Seahawks over the Vikings.
Per Breer, that simply isn’t true.
Along with Jones secondarily, Minnesota’s brass explored re-upping with Darnold as an insurance policy in case McCarthy, for example, fell injured again. McCarthy tore his meniscus last offseason, ending his rookie season.
The writing on the wall suggests Minnesota did not want Darnold or Jones back as the QB1. They were depth alternatives to McCarthy.
Aaron Rodgers Clarity
Breer also slipped in the comment about Rodgers, who allegedly pitched Minnesota for a one-year run at the Super Bowl. Rodgers will turn 42 this season, and the purple team has a roster ready for Super Bowl contention.
However, taking the bait with Rodgers’ proposal would’ve plopped McCarthy on the bench for another season, possibly stunting his development or delaying the “quarterback on a rookie contract” strategy for too long.
Rodgers was likely extremely intriguing — he later signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers — but the Vikings remained committed to McCarthy.
J.J. McCarty as the Plan All Along
Listen, McCarthy served as the plan from the moment Adofo-Mensah used the 10th overall pick on him in 2024. Unless he presented himself horribly behind the scenes — he did not and has done the opposite, in fact — there was no reason to dink around with Darnold, Jones, or Rodgers in 2025.
The franchise trusted McCarthy from the get-go, and his meniscus tear merely slowed the plan’s fruition.
The 2025 offseason ultimately became the realization of the long-term goal. Darnold, Jones, and Rodgers were subplots that never materialized.
Further Breer Details
Breer added more context about the Vikings’ offseason: “The Vikings’ decision-making at quarterback is a move forward with the initial plan — and that’s not just about J.J. McCarthy. When coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah arrived in the Twin Cities in 2022, they found a roster with a nice base of talent but with some age and plenty of cap debt that was a product of accumulating that talent.”
“They wanted to gradually retool and reset the team, and part of that was drafting a QB in 2024. Whether that was Caleb Williams (who wanted to play for Minnesota back then), Drake Maye (whom the Vikings tried to trade up for) or McCarthy, the idea was to get a young quarterback on a rookie contract that would allow for the Vikings to build more aggressively.”
It’s notable that Breer also confirmed the Drake Maye trade buzz, as fans had that theory on their radar in March and April of 2024.
Breer concluded, “Losing Kirk Cousins last year — partly because of being upfront with him on the plan to draft a quarterback — only accelerated the plan. I’m not sure people notice it playing out. Last year, they landed Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel to replace Danielle Hunter with their growing financial flexibility, and added Aaron Jones to the offense.”
“This year, with a charge to get tougher in the middle, they augmented the offensive line with Colts veterans Ryan Kelly and Will Fries and the D-line with former stalwart Commander Jonathan Allen while extending Byron Murphy.”
Now, it’s up to McCarthy to decide if the Vikings’ plan was worthwhile, a tall task.
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