The Minnesota Vikings entered this season with high expectations after falling just one victory short of earning NFC No. 1 in 2024. In 2024, the Minnesota Vikings will be seeded No. 1 in the playoffs. McCarthy was handed the quarterback reins after he tore the meniscus of his right knee in the first preseason game. McCarthy had been the 10th overall draft pick for 2024. In free agency, there was a major spending spree to upgrade the offensive (offensive line guard Will Fries) and defensive (Jonathan Allen) lines. McCarthy, who has no game experience, only played 12 offensive snaps during the 2025 preseason. Bo Nix (2024’s 12th pick), who played in 98.73% the offensive plays of the Denver Broncos in 2024, took 40 preseason snaps. The 2025 season was disappointing for many reasons. The drop-off in quarterbacks from Sam Darnold who was named to the Pro Bowl last season is a major issue. McCarthy, who scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Chicago Bears to win the season opener 27-24 in a comeback victory, struggled the next two games before suffering a high-right ankle sprain. McCarthy, who was brought in to replace Sam Howell after he was traded to Philadelphia Eagles in late preseason, has been inconsistent, with a 2-3 record in five starts. Carson Wentz was also signed to support McCarthy, but he was inconsistent, as he went 2-3 in his first three starts. McCarthy will return to the starting lineup against the Detroit Lions in Week 9, after Wentz was placed on injured reserve due to a season-ending injury of his left (nonthrowing) arm. McCarthy has served as Minnesota’s emergency quarterback during the last two games. McCarthy needed to be cleared medically to play in order to serve as the emergency quarterback. It was speculated by some that the Vikings thought Wentz would be the best quarterback to win games at this time.
McCarthy’s commitment cost the Vikings their other options for quarterbacks: Darnold Daniel Jones Aaron Rodgers. The Vikings have a 3-4 record and are last in the NFC North. It’s possible that the Vikings could be 5-2 at the end of seven games if their quarterback played better. The Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers both lost by one score. He was at the lowest of his game when it mattered most. Darnold’s performance was poor in Week 18, when a bye for the wild card and the NFC North championship were at stake, and also in the season-ending Wild Card Playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. The completion rate was 53.1%, while he threw 411 yards and had one touchdown with an interception. This gave him a passer rating of 66.4. Darnold had 11 sacks between the two games. This included a playoff record-tying 9 sacks against Rams.
The Vikings did not sign Darnold again. In free agency, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Darnold was signed to a team friendly three-year, $100,5 million contract by the Seahawks, which averaged $33.5 millions per year and could reach $115.5 through incentives. The Seahawks had a short window of time to cancel the contract if Darnold did not perform well. From the $27.5 Million Darnold was scheduled to earn in 2026, $17.5 becomes guaranteed for injury five days following Super Bowl LX. Dead money is a charge against the salary cap for a player who has left a team. The Seahawks will be charged $25.6 million. Darnold would get $37.5 million by leaving Seattle in 2026. Darnold has proven that his Pro Bowl year in 2024 wasn’t just a fluke. In seven games, he has completed 68.2% (131 of 194) of his passes for 1,754 yardage with 12 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions. His passer rating is 109.2. Darnold has the highest pass attempt yardage in the NFL at 9.1. He is seventh in the NFL in terms of passer rating.
Seahawks and Rams both sit atop NFC West at 5-2, after missing out on the playoffs in last year’s season. Darnold’s only downside is that the Seahawks could have been undefeated if he hadn’t made late-game mistakes in the Seahawks’ Week 1 and week 5 losses to San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings future, is in a critical moment whether he wants it to be fair or not.
Tyler Sullivan
Indiana JonesThe Vikings were able to gauge Jones’s capabilities after he spent six weeks on the practice squad in 2024, following the New York Giants’ release. Jones was added to the 53-man team to support Darnold in the playoffs. The Indianapolis Colts were unwilling to guarantee Jones that a competition would take place at quarterback, as he did with Anthony Richardson during this preseason. Jones signed a free-agent contract of up to $17.7m for a year, with perks.
Jones has a career revival that is surprising with the Colts. He is a candidate for MVP. Jones has thrown 2,062 yard with 13 touchdowns, two interceptions and 71.2% on 173 out of 243 passes. This gives him a passer rating of 109.5 in eight games. In terms of completion percentage, passing yardage and passer rating, he is ranked third, fourth and five in the NFL. The Colts lead the NFL in scoring, with 33.8 per game. They also have a 7-1 record. Rodgers chose Minnesota instead of the Vikings. In June, Rodgers signed a contract for $13,65 million, with a maximum value of $19.5 millions through incentives, with the Steelers. Rodgers, who turns 42 this December, is still showing that there is some gas left. In seven games, he has passed 1,489 yard with 16 touchdowns. He also had five interceptions. Rodgers completes 68.3% of throws (142 attempts out of 208) and has an impressive passer rating of 104.4. He is tied with the third-most touchdowns in the NFL. Rodgers has also the eighth-best passer rating in the NFL. Rodgers would be welcomed back by the Steelers in 2026, as they lead the AFC North.
Monday morning QBThe roster composition would be very different if any of the three other quarterbacks were on the team. Darnold has a current contract with a salary cap of $13.4 million for 2025 thanks to two dummy/voiding years in 2028/2029. This allows his $32 million sign-up bonus to be prorated to $6.4 million per year for five years. The Vikings do not mind voiding years. The Vikings’ Darnold contract would have a cap difference of around $12 million in 2025 if it was structured the same way. According to NFLPA, Darnold’s retention would have prevented the Vikings from signing an offensive lineman, either Fries or Kelly, or an interior defensive-lineman, Allen or Hargrave, because they have a cap space of $15.049 millions for 2025. Fries’ and Kelly’s 2025 cap numbers are $5.67m and $5.569m, respectively. Allen and Hargrave have respective cap numbers of $6,421,666 ($ Allen) and $8,017 206 ($ Hargrave).
Darnold’s signing bonus of $6.25 million was used to offset the $5 million cap charge for 2025. Darnold received a signing bonus of $6.25 million, so the Vikings will have to pay $5 million for those years in 2025. The 2025 cap hit would have likely been no more than $7.5 Million. Wentz’s cap increase would be in the range of $6 million. To maintain Minnesota’s current cap, only one of the four players would have been signed. The Vikings would probably have been better off in the short-term with one of the veteran quarterbacks currently on the roster. A one-year contract with Jones or Rodgers would have been more financially and salary cap friendly than Darnold. Minnesota’s decision to keep McCarthy as a quarterback will come under more scrutiny if they continue to play well despite not showing the same potential that made McCarthy a top-10 pick.
2025-10-29 18:59:20
