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The Minnesota Vikings are taking a patient approach with rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, which could mean that he starts the season as the third quarterback on the team’s depth chart.
Vikings play-by-play broadcaster Paul Allen voiced his assessment of the quarterback room, predicting that McCarthy will be behind starter Sam Darnold and backup Nick Mullens to start the season.
“I would make it prohibitively favored in that it would be Sam Darnold starting, Nick Mullens as the backup, and then J.J. McCarthy as the 3rd QB… But this is an opportunity for McCarthy,” Allen said on a July 9 episode of KFAN’s #92Noon! show. “Punchers chance would be too strong, but long-ish shot fashion to win the No. 2 job in training camp. And I don’t necessarily know if it’s going to happen, but I would make 3 QBs on the active roster prohibitively favored.”
Nick Mullens Could Serve as Vikings’ Firewall for J.J. McCarthy
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GettyQuarterback Nick Mullens of the Minnesota Vikings.
Last season, the Vikings’ abysmal injury luck at quarterback led Kevin O’Connell to do something he didn’t want to do — play fifth-round rookie Jaren Hall.
Hall was forced into the starting role with Kirk Cousins and Mullens out due to injury ahead of a Week 9 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Hall started the game and looked impressive on his first drive before suffering a concussion. That thrust newcomer Josh Dobbs into the game just a handful of days after he was traded from the Arizona Cardinals.
That began a whirling quarterback carousel for the remainder of the season, and head coach O’Connell would not like to relive that ride again.
The Vikings signed Darnold to a one-year, $10 million contract to be the starter for as long it takes for McCarthy to reach the developmental benchmarks O’Connell has in place for him this season.
If Darnold does not perform well or gets injured, Mullens is the buffer to make sure what happened to Hall does not happen to McCarthy (if the rookie is not ready to play).
“He’s here in part because he’s a firewall to keep McCarthy off the field until they’re ready to put him out there,” Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling said on a May 29 episode of the “Access Vikings” podcast. “I think they also would like to not have to do (play Mullens). In a perfect world, Sam Darnold is the guy as long as they need him to be the guy.”
Adam Thielen Raves About Vikings Rookie J.J. McCarthy After Training Session
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GettyAdam Thielen has become one of the most recognizable players in the NFL, both for his play and his character.
Back home in Minnesota for the summer, former Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen worked out with McCarthy and gave a rousing review of his time with the 21-year-old quarterback.
“He’s got all the tools, that’s for sure,” Thielen said on “#92Noon!” on July 1. “He can sling it. He’s super accurate. We’re in shorts and some T-shirts out there. But, yeah, that you can see a lot just from accuracy timing and those kind of things when you’re running routes on air.
“He’s a great kid. You don’t really realize that he’s 21 years old when you’re talking to him [or] when you’re hanging around him. He’s got a maturity about him that you can tell that goes beyond his age,” Thielen said. “That’s step No. 1 as a quarterback, right? To have that maturity level, to have that kind of poise or kind of that aura around you that just feels like confidence and just a good, good person. So I’ve really enjoyed being around him for the little time that I’ve been able to be around him, and [I’m] excited to kind of follow his career.”
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