Sam Darnold's future as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback is a major question mark heading into the offseason. Has the former USC Trojan earned the right to be the starter next season, or will the Pro Bowler be on the move?
Darnold stepped in and had a season to remember. He led the Vikings to a 14-3 record but the team was ultimately eliminated in the Wild Card Round. He finished fifth in the NFL for passing yards with 4,319 and fifth in total touchdowns with 35.
I can’t stand to keep going to the playoffs and only playing in a game and being out of it,” the receiver said. “I want to compete for a Super Bowl.”
Will the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 be Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy or Daniel Jones? It's the biggest question of the offseason and Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah isn't tipping his hand.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who spoke before O'Connell, said he had just run into McCarthy while walking around TCO Performance Center prior to his press conference. He said McCarthy was in the weight room doing "those cool quarterback thrusty things that Dak (Prescott) does." He also noted that the rookie QB is back to throwing in on-field workouts.
Darnold has come to the end of his one-year deal, but ESPN's Benjamin Solak predicts the Vikings will make a big financial commitment to the veteran quarterback and explore trades for McCarthy to one of the NFL's quarterback-hungry teams.
Heading into the NFL’s offseason, it’s generally good practice for teams to try and keep their best players from hitting the open market. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.
The Minnesota Vikings brain trust of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell have the biggest choice an NFL team grapples with when building out the roster: what should they do with their starting quarterback position?
The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold to serve as a stopgap quarterback while they developed rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The quarterback position was central to the conversation at the end of season press conferences that the Vikings held on Thursday.
The Vikings general manager told reporters Thursday that Darnold is among the “good options” the Vikings have at quarterback while adding that J.J. McCarthy has returned to on-field training.