clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Minnesota Vikings News and Links: The Future is Still Very Bright for the Vikings and J.J. McCarthy

Will the Vikings bring in another QB?

By Mark P
/ new
Las Vegas Raiders v Minnesota Vikings Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The J.J. McCarthy injury is tough, especially after the way he played last week. It would have been nice to see him finish out the preseason and then be available should Sam Darnold falter, or worse, get hurt too.

The wailing and gnashing of teeth is in full throttle, and I feel the pain. But, for me, who has been a fan since 1970, I am already beat down. You cannot beat me down anymore. I thought I had seen it all. But noooo ...

J.J. McCarthy’s season-ending knee injury led to the Vikings making uniquely miserable NFL history

Whatever the Minnesota Vikings are doing right now, they need to stop and put themselves in a big old bag of brown rice. It’s probably their only path to try and salvage whatever is left of their 2024 season because I don’t think there’s an NFL Genius Bar that will fix what ails them.
Think about all the quarterbacks drafted in the first round over the last approximately five decades. Teams reach on guys who don’t belong in the first round all the time simply because it’s often worth using a flier on the most important position in the sport. And even those guys didn’t miss their entire rookie seasons!
It’s so, so Vikings that they are the first team in the common draft era to lose a rookie offensive signal caller for his entire first year because of an injury. It just had to be this gut-wrenching team. That’s akin to saying the Dallas Cowboys will be a circus only worth paying attention to for drama.

Will the Vikings add another QB to their room?

There isn’t a pressing need to add a quarterback in Minnesota. Darnold (63 career TD passes, 56 interceptions with a 21-35 career record) is entrenched as the starter, and the team is confident in Nick Mullens’ ability to produce in spot duty. The 29-year-old Mullens has 20 career starts over a six-year career with the 49ers, Browns and Vikings. And Minnesota hasn’t totally given up on Jaren Hall, last year’s fifth-round pick who started twice in 2023.
Except for Ryan Tannehill, the options are scarce on the free-agent market. It wouldn’t surprise to see the Vikings at least evaluate the outside options, but they have enough talent to sustain without McCarthy. — Fowler
What does this mean for the 2025 offseason?
The Vikings are headed for a series of really important decisions this offseason. McCarthy’s injury, at the very least, will make those decisions more difficult and could further push out the timing of their quarterback transition.
The first decision is obvious. Darnold is on a one-year contract. Will the Vikings be ready to anoint him their 2025 starter? Or would they need Darnold — or another veteran — to serve as a foil?

Matthew Coller: Small sample, huge impression left by J.J. McCarthy

“Our fan base and everyone should just be excited about the fact that we’ve got our young franchise quarterback, I believe, in the building,” O’Connell said.
What did McCarthy do in a short period of time to be declared the “franchise quarterback” by O’Connell? He kept getting better.
“For some of you guys that saw him from day one back in the spring until Saturday night, the transformation of a really, really good player had started to look like an NFL quarterback,” O’Connell said.
Following practice against the Browns, teammates talked about what they had seen since McCarthy arrived in Minnesota.
“He’s got a lot of swagger, he’s confident, which you love to see, but he’s also eager to learn,” center Garrett Bradbury said. “I don’t know what offense they ran in college but I know it’s not this. It’s a big step up learning wise and understanding scheme.”
“What I learned about him is that he’s a dawg in every category,” receiver Trishton Jackson said. “He’s a leader, he’s a dawg on the field, when things don’t go his way he’s still the same, he’s poised. He shows great leadership skills when things don’t go his way, which speaks volumes about him.”
“He’s so young, he has so much ahead of him and even though he won’t be out there getting reps he can still do a bunch of stuff like the film room, meeting room, studying plays, it’s just a small setback,” Bradbury said.
For O’Connell, McCarthy’s injury is an unexpected turn in the HC-QB journey. Rather than formulating plans for more first-team reps and preseason time and ultimately figuring out the right time to put him into regular season games, now KOC has to form another outline of how he can prepare McCarthy best during his recovery for his age-22 season.
“It’s now the stress mentally above the neck… how many ways and different sequences and different environments can we put him in that we can get as close to those reps as possible so that he has a seamless transition when that time’s right,” O’Connell said.
The time won’t be right until 2025 but it’s massive to the future of the organization that McCarthy showed in a small sample that they can buy into him as the future at quarterback. It means they can continue to carry out their plan to build the rest of the roster around his rookie contract.
“I think that’s why we all can be very, very confident about the future, because I would not stand up here and tell you that a lot of boxes have been checked in my mind and in J.J.’s mind if that was not true,” O’Connell said. “As disappointed as I am that J.J.’s not going to be taking a bunch of reps out here today against the Cleveland Browns, he’s confirmed a lot of the things that… a lot of people and J.J. himself needed to confirm.”

What does J.J. McCarthy’s knee injury mean for the Vikings?

Matthew Coller: McCarthy’s surgery is a setback but shouldn’t change Vikings’ future outlook

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Training Camp Observations: Browns defense dominates Vikings on Day 1

“Really good work out there with Minnesota,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Tried to hit a bunch of situations today – normal down in distance, third down. We’ll get in the red zone tomorrow and we’ll do a two-minute tomorrow. I thought both sides got some really good work in.”
Watson read the defense well through both the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills to find open receivers downfield to practice normal down with distance and third down situations.
He connected with a number of pass catchers like WR Jerry Jeudy, WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku, who were open downfield for the reception. He also found RB Jerome Ford throughout the offensive drills down the sideline, as well as WR Cedric Tillman for two separate passes where Tillman was open near the sidelines.
On the day, Watson threw two interceptions and took two “sacks” throughout the team periods.
While the Browns offense led the way on the first day of joint practices, both the Vikings front seven and secondary came up with a handful of plays. In a 7-on-7 period, S Jay Ward batted down a pass from Watson. In the first 11-on-11 period, S Camryn Bynum broke up a pass intended for WR Elijah Moore in the middle of the field.
But it wasn’t just the secondary that make plays. LB Blake Cashman picked off another pass from Watson, and LB Ivan Pace Jr. broke through the Browns’ offensive line and would have sacked Watson in live contact.
QB Sam Darnold took first-team snaps for the Vikings offense, lining up against a ferocious Browns defensive front that was clearly eager to go against unfamiliar faces after spending all of camp going against their teammates.
DE Myles Garrett was a sight to behold Wednesday afternoon, as he weaved through or bulldozed over Vikings offensive linemen in pursuit of Darnold. Garrett had at least three sacks and multiple pressures, forcing Darnold to get rid of the ball early.
Along the line, LB Caleb Johnson, DE Ogbo Okoronkwo and DE Alex Wright also sacked Vikings quarerbacks, each earning an uproar from the Browns defensive sideline. After Garrett walked off the field following the first 11-on-11 drill, injured teammates DT Dalvin Tomlinson and DE Za’Darius Smith dapped him up for his dominant showing against the Vikings.

Kevin O’Connell won’t tolerate fighting at Vikings-Browns joint practices this week

O’Connell has always made it clear that fighting won’t be tolerated. His policy is that if you fight in a joint practice, you get kicked out and can’t play in the upcoming preseason game (if you were set to do so). That’s a pretty good deterrent when players are (metaphorically) fighting for roster spots and roles. The Vikings hosted the 49ers for joint practices in 2022 and both the Titans and Cardinals last year, and of those all occurred with minimal scuffling.
“We’re both trying to simulate game reps, and you can’t fight in a game, so why would you be able to fight in a practice?” O’Connell said on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday. “What happens when you do fight in a game? You get kicked out. I have kind of a standing rule that if guys fight, they’re first and foremost going to get kicked off the field.
“Secondly, if they were set to play in the game, trying to fight for a roster spot, they will no longer play in the game. And if they were a guy that we were going to hold out of the game, they’re probably going to strap on the pads and go play a little bit in that game that weekend. That tends to be enough to hold off those guys that may be thinking about it. But at the same time, you don’t want to take out the competitive side of it.”
“It’s about who you practice with, as well,” O’Connell told McAfee. “Kevin Stefanski is a guy I have so much respect for. We kind of feel similar about that. Hopefully we have two really good days of work, physical work, it’s going to be a physical football team we’re going to practice against. Both teams are trying to prepare themselves for 17-plus games that are out in front. So any rep, any period, any drill that gets cut short, it’s a damn shame and we can’t let it happen.”

3 Observations: Justin Jefferson & Myles Garrett Impress, Vikings Log Reps vs. Browns

Vikings fans have become quite accustomed to seeing Justin Jefferson doing Justin Jefferson things.
That continued against a strong defensive backs group of the Browns. Jefferson continued to show the positive chemistry he’s developing with Sam Darnold as the duo worked for some short and intermediate completions in 7-on-7 and team periods, as well as a deep touchdown during the team portion.
Jefferson highlighted what was a tough day for Vikings receivers that included the injuries to Addison and Thomas, as well as a couple of drops and catches that were initially secured but broken up before their completion.
Those who cover the Browns on a regular basis have grown accustomed to seeing Myles Garrett do Myles Garrett things.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds, Garrett maximizes his power and is capable of speed and movement abilities to wreak havoc.
Garrett impressed in reps against Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right tackle Brian O’Neill. Darrisaw explained his impression of Garrett to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis.
O’Connell has utilized the phrase “play style” in multiple instances during this year’s training camp.
The phrase is intended to apply toward an effectiveness by the offense in the run game and pass protection, as well as the defense shutting down an opponent.
The run game, however, might have a little way to go, based on the run stuffs the Browns were able to record during team periods.
Russo noted Browns QB Deshaun Watson, who has been recovering from injury and is not likely to play Saturday, found connections with receivers Jerry Jeudy and Amari Cooper, as well as tight end David Njoku.
The Vikings defense countered, with Camryn Bynum picking off a pass and breaking up another intended for Elijah Moore.
Blake Cashman also recorded an interception, and Ivan Pace, Jr., was in the backfield for what would have been a sack. Jay Ward also recorded a pass breakup.

Undrafted Vikings OLB Bo Richter is a crazy athlete and a potential steal

Coming off a massive season at Air Force, Richter has an interesting profile for a UDFA. In 13 games last year, he had 10 sacks, 19.5 total TFL, and 3 forced fumbles, earning first team All-Mountain West honors. Much like fellow rookie OLB Gabriel Murphy, Richter went undrafted because he lacks NFL edge rusher length (he’s 6’1” with sub-31” arms). Where he can make up for that is with skill, effort, and athleticism.
Richter is a crazy athlete at 248 pounds. He ran a 4.56 40-yard dash, benched 24 reps of 225, and recorded a 40-inch vertical jump and a broad jump north of 10 feet at his pro day. Those are elite numbers.

A Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster projection two weeks ahead of cutdown day

NFL offseason power rankings: No. 22 Minnesota Vikings finally move on from Kirk Cousins

The Vikings’ offseason might end up serving as a blueprint for teams in the future. Yes, there is some concern in being on a tightrope if you cut ties with a safe veteran quarterback, but it’s rare that overpaying one works out well. Minnesota finally was forced into changing course. And if McCarthy is OK in 2025, they’ll be better off.
The crystal ball says ...
The Vikings could be much better than their ranking. It’s hard to put too many expectations on Sam Darnold to suddenly be good. Perhaps the overall talent of the NFC North keeps the Vikings in last place, but that says more about the state of the division. The Vikings could end up being one of the best last-place teams in the NFL, or maybe not in last place at all. Keep an eye on this interesting Vikings team early in the season.

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

  • No discussion of politics or religion
  • No feeding of the trolls
  • Leave the gender hatred at the door
  • Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
  • Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
  • No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
  • If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
  • While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm

More From Daily Norseman

Loading comments...