When the Minnesota Vikings return to action in Week 9, they will be making another change at quarterback. With Carson Wentz set to undergo season-ending surgery on a shoulder injury, J.J. McCarthy will be thrust back into action after recovering from an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the year.
In just one year, the Vikings’ quarterback situation has undergone several notable changes, and the level of play they have received this season has come nowhere close to what they received from Sam Darnold last year. However, the team let Darnold walk in free agency last offseason, and according to a recent report, there was one big reason why the team didn’t want to bring him back to town.
Sam Darnold’s Poor Relationship with J.J. McCarthy Led to Vikings Split
Entering the 2024 campaign, the Vikings held a quarterback competition between Darnold, who they signed in free agency, and McCarthy, who they selected with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. McCarthy suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in August, but reports indicated that Darnold was going to win the starting job anyway.
Darnold ended up turning in the best season of his career, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, which helped him earn the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. However, he faltered in the team’s final two games, and it seemed like the coaching staff was content with turning things over to McCarthy in 2025.
With McCarthy struggling in his only two games, and Darnold looking like a stud for the Seattle Seahawks, the decision to let him walk in free agency has looked like a bad move for the Vikings. While it makes sense that the team wanted to see what it had in McCarthy, a recent report indicated that Darnold’s relationship, or lack thereof, with the former Michigan Wolverines star played a role in their decision to move on from him.
“(Darnold) and McCarthy did not forge an especially close relationship during their time together, and it would have been hard to envision the untested youngster winning a fair competition,” Michael Silver wrote for The Athletic. “The vibe didn’t seem right for such an arrangement.”
Should the Vikings Have Re-Signed Sam Darnold?
GettySam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks.
It’s still early in McCarthy’s career, but it’s tough to look at the Vikings’ decision to move on from Darnold and say they made the right decision. McCarthy essentially has one good quarter of football to his name this season, while Darnold has the Seahawks looking like one of the top teams in the league through eight weeks of action.
Minnesota invested a lot in McCarthy, and it is about to find out what it has in him, whether it wants to or not. With Wentz’s season over, that leaves McCarthy and Max Brosmer as the only two quarterbacks on the active roster, with John Wolford getting signed to the practice squad earlier this week. McCarthy will look to show the Vikings he’s their quarterback of the future in Week 9, but he will have a tough task going up against a high-powered Detroit Lions squad.
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