The Minnesota Vikings are at a crossroads at the most important position in the sport: quarterback. The club managed to win 14 games in the regular season and make the playoffs large in part due to the resurgence of Sam Darnold, whom the team signed as a free agent last offseason. However, the Vikings also drafted former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, so a decision will likely need to be made with Darnold now looking down the barrel of hitting unrestricted free agency.
Naturally, this has led to quite the debate about how Minnesota should handle this situation. Do the Vikings ink Darnold, a proven commodity in Kevin O’Connell’s system, to a long-term extension? Or do they roll the dice and see through their investment with McCarthy? Or do they bring in another stop-gap quarterback to allow McCarthy to continue developing in the background while not breaking the bank to retain Darnold?
“Luckily, that ain’t my decision,” Viking star wideout Justin Jefferson told Athlon Sports when posed these similar questions as to what the team will do at QB this offseason. “I’m sitting back, and I’m waiting for all of these decisions to be made. I’m really just showing up and being myself and making the plays that I make. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what we’re going to do with Sam, if we’re going to bring him back. Of course, J.J. is going to have his opportunity to make some plays and to see if he’s going to be the starter.”
Darnold, 27, put up career numbers in his first season with the Vikings, and Jefferson was a main beneficiary, continuing his ascent as one of the NFL’s top receivers. In 17 games played, Jefferson caught 103 balls for 1,533 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. All of that came from the arm of Darnold, but Jefferson expressed confidence that he’ll continue to make plays whoever is under center.
“I’m not sure exactly what we’re going to do with Sam and the moves that we’re going to make, but I’m always confident in myself,” he said. “It don’t matter who’s going to be throwing the ball. I’m going to make a play for sure.”
One option the Vikings could deploy is placing the franchise tag on Darnold, which would kick a more permanent decision surrounding the position down the road for at least another season, so long as he doesn’t hold out.
