The wheels haven’t fallen off for the Minnesota Vikings just yet, but it’s no longer difficult to envision the worst-case scenario, which could have ownership rethinking its leadership as early as the coming offseason.
Minnesota was on the verge of desperate to find an off-ramp from the Kirk Cousins experiment ahead of the 2024 campaign, especially after he tore his Achilles tendon. Cousins was still good, but the offense had a low playoff ceiling with him in the driver’s seat, and head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah clearly understood that.
The team played a little too well for its own good and entered the NFL draft a little too far down in the pecking order to get its hands on one of the three prize signal-callers: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. Tipping how distressed they were at the QB position, the Vikings traded a couple of assets to move up one spot from No. 11 to No. 10 in order to snag J.J. McCarthy.
Last season was better than fine, even after McCarthy tore up his knee in August and missed the entirety of his rookie campaign. Sam Darnold was excellent as a placeholder, leading the team to a 14-3 record and the playoffs. He got $100 million from the Seattle Seahawks as a result, while Minnesota got an exciting and competitive season, which provided evidence that McCarthy should be able to succeed in O’Connell’s offense.
However, the beginning of McCarthy’s first year as a starter has been literally one quarter shy of a full-on nightmare, and the Vikings‘ clearly made a miscalculation via their all-in bet on the 22-year-old by letting both Darnold and Daniel Jones depart in free agency.
J.J. McCarthy’s Play Has Yet to Justify Minnesota’s Decision to Go All-In on QB Absent Any NFL Snaps
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota’s offense has turned the football over at a rate of 2.5 times per game, with 80 percent of those mistakes falling directly on McCarthy’s back.
Furthermore, the team has scored just 12 points combined in seven of its eight quarters this season, with the only exception coming in the fourth period against the Chicago Bears in Week 1. McCarthy was unquestionably great over those 15 minutes, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for another as Minnesota came back from 11 points down on the road to earn a three-point victory.
Part of the problem is a banged up offensive line, which is currently down left tackle Christian Darrisaw and center Ryan Kelly. That said, McCarthy has played poorly most of his time on the field thus far and is now hurt again with an ankle injury that is going to sideline him for between two and four weeks.
In retrospect — which is, admittedly, the easiest and laziest way to judge a decision, if not also typically the most accurate — Minnesota’s approach to the QB position over the offseason appears as risky as it was short-sighted.
Vikings Made Mistake by Not Offering Daniel Jones Legitimate Contract, Opportunity to Compete for QB1 Job
GettyIndianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones left for the Indianapolis Colts, where he won the job over former No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson (2023) and stands at the helm of a 2-0 team that looks like the clear favorite to win the AFC South Division early in the year.
Paying Darnold probably wasn’t a viable option for the Vikings after a Pro-Bowl season and considering the deal he got in Seattle, though he’s also been superior to McCarthy through two games.
Keeping Jones, however, was a choice Minnesota could have made were the team willing to pay him a reasonable one-year salary and afford him a legitimate chance to compete with McCarthy for the starting job. Neither appears to have been the case, as Jones accepted a $14 million offer from Indy to go battle Richardson, a highly-drafted player whose organization didn’t anoint him the starter simply because of his draft position.
Instead, the Vikings installed Sam Howell and Brett Rypien behind McCarthy, knowing neither could actually challenge him. Neither is currently with the team.
Adding to the Vikings‘ moderate malpractice is the fact that injury has defined McCarthy’s entire career to this point. So for Minnesota to expect that a viable backup QB wasn’t going to be necessary feels like a gross miscalculation.
In Minnesota’s defense, the franchise did bring in Carson Wentz, but did so on the doorstep of the season. That timing hasn’t allowed Wentz the preparation and rep time he’d have had if the Vikings acquired him at the beginning of the summer, which might impact how he plays in McCarthy’s stead.
Vikings Face QB Dilemma Whether Carson Wentz Plays Well, Poorly
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz.
So all things considered, the Vikings had three potential starting QBs on the roster at the end of 2024 in McCarthy, Darnold and Jones. They let the latter two walk, and both of them are healthy and playing solid to good football heading into Week 3 as starters on teams poised to compete for the playoffs.
Minnesota got somewhat predictable shaky play from McCarthy to begin his career, though save for one quarter it’s been worse than most could feel comfortable with — and he is now out up to a month with injury.
As such, the Vikings will turn to Wentz, who is a lesser quarterback than Darnold or Jones and is also less prepared to step into a leadership role for what could be one of the league’s most dangerous offenses with above-average quarterback play. If Wentz plays poorly, Vikings leadership has serious questions to answer about its long-term strategy. If he plays well, that creates a problem of a different sort.
What happens if Carson Wentz catches fire over these next few weeks and recharges Minnesota’s offense?” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday, September 17. Does that then become a temporary reset for J.J. McCarthy after he returns from his high ankle sprain, if only for a few games?
Man, if the Vikings moved off McCarthy, they’d pretty much be acknowledging that everything they told us about their faith and belief in him this offseason was a ruse,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano added.
Based on Graziano’s analysis, McCarthy’s job security is reasonable — at least for now. But if he doesn’t show major improvement before a tough salary cap situation in 2026 forces the Vikings to make cuts at other important positions across the roster, O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah might not be so fortunate.
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, Daniel Jones Miscalculation Puts O’Connell, Adofo-Mensah on Hot Seat