Sam Darnold’s price continues to rise. The question of whether or not the Minnesota Vikings will pay to keep him grows more intriguing right along with it. But where does that leave J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings first-round pick in the 2024 draft?
The Vikings set their price and contract length limits with Kirk Cousins during the 2024 offseason.
Cousins ended up signing with the Atlanta Falcons while the Vikings pivoted to Darnold.
That conviction could carry over into their decision to pivot to McCarthy. However, former Vikings executive vice president and general manager Rick Spielman does not believe they should test fate a second time.
“If I was in Minnesota, why wouldn’t you keep Sam Darnold?” Spielman said on the “With the First Pick” podcast on December 10. He’s [McCarthy] a rookie. He’s going to start over from scratch. He didn’t do anything this year – he’s not practicing. He’s sitting in meetings, he’s rehabbing. He hasn’t done one thing since that surgery except rehab [and] throw the ball on the side maybe. But he’s not practicing.
“You’re starting from square one with him. Why not do a potential bridge deal like Baker Mayfield?”
Mayfield has been a popular comparison for Darnold after he parlayed his one-year, $4 million pact in 2023 into a three-year, $100 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during this past offseason.
Mayfield has been better this season despite a change at offensive coordinator.
That could be an encouraging sign for the Vikings, who have the benefit of knowing their play-caller is also their head coach.
Vikings Using VR to Keep J.J. McCarthy Up to Speed
GettyJ.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
As for McCarthy not practicing. That is true. But ESPN’s Kevin Seifert pushed back on Spielman’s assertion, highlighting the innovative way the Vikings have kept McCarthy as up-to-speed as possible.
He also cited internal sentiments from before the injury that suggests the Vikings will proceed as planned and allow McCarthy every opportunity to be QB1 in 2025 so long as he is healthy.
“NFL rules prohibit players on injured reserve from participating in or even attending practice, regardless of whether their injuries are healed. The best McCarthy has been able to do is use the footage from Darnold’s helmet camera, which provides audio of the playcall in the huddle, a view of protection calls on the line of scrimmage and the sequence of Darnold’s reads based on coverage,” Seifert wrote on December 16.
“The video can be transferred to a wall of screens in the Vikings’ draft room, according to Wes Phillips, giving McCarthy a life-size view of the field. More commonly, however, he watches it with a virtual reality visor. He can also attend and participate in all quarterback and team meetings behind the scenes.”
McCarthy has spoken optimistically about his recovery.
That, in combination with his VR training, could speed up a process for McCarthy. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has already proven can happen quickly with Darnold.
There was already optimism about McCarthy’s progress during training camp.
“The Vikings had grown increasingly excited about the likelihood that he would be ready to play this season — and there was an outside chance that he could have beaten out Darnold for the Week 1 starter’s job. The injury not only set back those plans, but they also limited his capacity for developing over the course of his rookie season,” Seifert wrote.
“Spielman doesn’t have the same access as Vikings coaches and executives to the details of McCarthy’s behind-the-scenes work.”
Vikings QB Room Will Look Different in 2025
GettySam Darnold #14 and Nick Mullens #12 of the Minnesota Vikings take the field before a game against the Chicago Bears.
Darnold and McCarthy (who is on injured reserve) are two of five current Vikings QBs. They are joined by Brett Rypien, Daniel Jones, and Nick Mullens.
Of the latter trio, Jones’ future is also a source of intrigue around the NFL.
Seifert noted that Jones represented “another possibility” if the Vikings let Darnold leave. He will have a head start that Darnold did not in 2023. Jones is learning the playbook as a member of the practice squad this season.
McCarthy is the only Vikings QB under contract for 2025. Darnold will still count $5 million against the cap due to void years on his one-year, $10 million deal, though.
Finances figure to be at or near McCarthy in terms of priority in making the decision.
Over The Cap projects the Vikings to have $76.4 million in 2025. But Darnold is expected to surpass Mayfield’s contract on his new deal. The Vikings, meanwhile, have several other roster holes to fill.
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