J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings are already one year behind after the quarterback missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus. The Vikings let Sam Darnold, a Pro Bowler in 2024, walk in free agency this offseason.
So, essentially sight unseen, the Vikings have continued to build out their roster around their young quarterback.
They still need McCarthy to prove himself before having to make a significant investment in him.
The San Francisco 49ers will be a case study for the Vikings on many levels over the next few seasons. Most notably, they signed Brock Purdy to a five-year, $265 million contract extension. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote on May 16 that the deal has various “ripple effects.”
Knox did not mention the Vikings. However, his note that the 49ers “can no longer afford to whiff on early draft picks” should resonate with Minnesota.
Knox specifically cited the 49ers’ trade up in 2021 to select Trey Lance No. 3 overall.
The 49ers have also faced scrutiny for paying Purdy, who remains a polarizing player.
Multiple misses for various reasons in the secondary have left the Vikings facing significant questions in back-to-back offseasons. Seven of their 35 top 100 draft picks from 2012 through 2022 remain on the roster entering 2025 OTAs.
Five of those players are starters for the Vikings, including All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who is of particular interest to McCarthy, and All-Pro safety Harrison Smith.
The Vikings have also done well to find contributors in the later rounds of the draft.
Draft Misses Not Only Hurdle Vikings Must Overcome
Knox wrote that it is “imperative” for the 49ers to hit on “cheaper rookie talent” in the draft, with Purdy now the highest-paid player in franchise history. They have already had to part with several expensive veterans this offseason. The 49ers absorbed north of $86 million in dead cap.
A similar path with McCarthy would leave the Vikings trying to fill gaps with expensive options in free agency and fliers in the draft and post-draft landscape.
The 49ers also had the “underrated benefit” of Purdy being on a seventh-round pick’s contract.
He will count $5.3 million against the cap in the final year of a three-year, $3.7 million pact in 2025 before his extension kicks in. That makes the 2023 Pro Bowler who helped guide the 49ers to the Super Bowl that season a relative bargain for at least one more season.
The Vikings do not have that luxury with McCarthy. He will count $4.9 million against the cap in 2025 and $6.9 million in 2027 as part of his four-year, $21.8 million rookie scale contract.
The Vikings have time with McCarthy contractually, but that could change fast and drastically.
Clock Already Ticking on J.J. McCarthy as Vikings’ QB1
The Vikings have three more seasons before the end of McCarthy’s contract expires. Then they can turn to his fifth-year option and up to three years of franchise tags before having to make a long-term decision.
However, McCarthy could be expensive long before then, in addition to whatever issues that could pose for the Vikings.
They already surrendered additional draft capital to move up and select him in 2024.
The contract issue seems far off. But as 2024 showed for McCarthy and the Vikings, injuries can rob teams and players of precious time in what has become a critical window for teams trying to build competitive teams while rearing young quarterbacks.
For reference, McCarthy would have to beat Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million pact to be the highest-paid Vikings player ever. Daunte Culpepper holds the mark for quarterbacks with a 10-year, $102 million deal in 2003.
