Some good news for the Vikings’ young quarterback
With the Minnesota Vikings apparently ready to move on from their 2024 starter at quarterback, they’ve received some good news about the man that they hope will be the long-term future at the position.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network is reporting that J.J. McCarthy is expected to be cleared for spring practices, meaning that he can officially take over as the top quarterback for Kevin O’Connell and company when mini-camps get underway after this year’s NFL Draft.
As we know, McCarthy appeared in just one preseason game in his rookie season before having surgery to repair a torn meniscus and go on injured reserve, ending his season. That opened the door for Sam Darnold, who experienced a renaissance under O’Connell’s tutelage and is now set to cash in when free agency gets underway this week.
With the Vikings unable to find a trade partner in a tag-and-trade deal for Darnold, he will have some suitors in free agency. With the Seattle Seahawks trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, the Seahawks are expected to be the most likely destination for Darnold now that it doesn’t appear he’ll be back in Minnesota.
What else does this mean for the Vikings at quarterback? Well, it means that McCarthy is almost certainly going to enter the spring sessions as the undisputed #1 quarterback on the depth chart and the search will be on for a backup to him. The team reportedly wants to bring back Daniel Jones to fill that role, but there are apparently teams that will be coming after Jones to answer their quarterback questions as well, with the Indianapolis Colts being among the most frequently mentioned.
We aren’t going to have to wait much longer to get the answers to some of these questions, as we’re now just a little more than 48 hours away from the start of the “legal tampering” period of free agency ahead of the new league year getting underway this Wednesday at 3:00 PM Central time.
