The Minnesota Vikings could keep current starting quarterback Sam Darnold from reaching free agency by signing him to a multiyear deal before the new league year opens on March 12 or by retaining his rights for 2025 via the franchise tag.
Minnesota could also hope that 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy is ready to replace Darnold as a playoff-caliber QB1 coming off the full meniscus repair that sidelined McCarthy for his entire rookie season.
During a Tuesday appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," McCarthy shared somewhat of a request regarding what he could experience during upcoming summer training-camp practices and preseason games.
"All I could ask for is a fair opportunity," McCarthy said, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "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 have to focus on controlling what I can control. My feelings don’t matter. I’m not getting any grace. There’s no sympathy. This is the big leagues."
It seemed a lock on the first day of January when the Vikings were 14-2 that they would run it back with Darnold for at least one more year. However, he then endured nightmare outings when Minnesota had a chance to secure the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed in Week 18 and in a wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Fair or not, those games left some wondering if McCarthy will ultimately have the higher ceiling of the two signal-callers.
Earlier this week, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned that individuals within the Vikings "are really happy with" where McCarthy is regarding both his recovery and his development. On Tuesday, he touched upon what he learned from Darnold while serving as an inactive spectator.
"Just witnessing how he was the same guy every single day," McCarthy said about Darnold, according to Lindsey Young of the Vikings' website. "He had this beautiful ability to really not care too much and also not care too little. That's something that I battle with because I care so much, and then I find myself in times when it doesn't really go your way, which is inevitable, and kind of get down on yourself, and that critic gets a little louder. But Sam had a great ability to keep the main thing the main thing and just focus on attacking each day."
The Vikings can afford to bring Darnold back and start him over McCarthy for another season. On the other hand, Minnesota could turn to McCarthy and then spend money that would've been used to retain Darnold on a big-name acquisition such as unsettled Cleveland Browns All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett.
Either way, McCarthy promised on Tuesday he would "attack each day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind." Whether he'll do so as a starter or as a backup shall be seen.
