Last season, the Minnesota Vikings had Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold on their quarterback depth chart. After leaving in the offseason, both players have gone on to make a positive impact on their new respective teams this season.
It’s easy to look back now and wonder why the Vikings didn’t try harder to hold on to at least one of those players instead of turning the offense over to J.J. McCarthy. However, that might not be accurate.
On November 2, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter shed light on the offseason decisions regarding Jones and Darnold as he set the record straight on Minnesota’s stance with both of those players.
“I think there’s a misperception that the Vikings didn’t try to keep either quarterback because they wanted to hand things over to J.J. McCarthy,” Schefter said on “Sunday NFL Countdown.“ “The truth is, they made a strong offer to Sam Darnold and wanted to keep Daniel Jones. But both quarterbacks saw better opportunities elsewhere.
“Sam Darnold knew he had a clearer path to start in Seattle than staying in Minnesota to compete with J.J. McCarthy. Daniel Jones felt the same way, choosing to battle with Anthony Richardson instead of J.J. McCarthy. So, in a sense, J.J. McCarthy’s presence opened the door for both to move on.”
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Faces Pressure
While the second-year quarterback could feel pressure on him knowing that the two quarterbacks who were in Minnesota last season are having amazing campaigns, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner had an honest take on the young signal-caller.
“I think there’s a lot of transition going on here that we need to understand, but it’s hard to grasp because all we want to look at is a 14-win team and a quarterback who played there last year, lighting it up in Seattle,” Warner said on the October 29 edition of “The Rich Eisen Show.” “Did Minnesota make the wrong decision? Let’s just give him some time.
“Maybe he plays like Drake Maye does next year, in his second year [as a starter] with the team, and now we’re forgetting about all of that—it doesn’t really matter. I think he was against the eightball from the start. He’s got room to grow and a ways to go before we can really know who he’s going to be at this level.”
Is the Pressure Unfair for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy?
Still, Warner understands why McCarthy faces pressure after the Vikings’ 14-win 2024 season. Even so, he believes it’s an unfair situation for the Minnesota quarterback.
“There is pressure on him because of all the things that I talked about,“ Warner added. “And to me, it’s undue pressure to expect him to step in in his first year and just pick up where Sam Darnold left off last year. But that’s how we’re going to continue to look at it. One way or another, whether J.J. becomes a great player or not, right now this is the narrative.
“If he doesn’t become a great player in this league, we’re going to look back at this moment and talk about what Minnesota did and did they make the right—and all of those different things. But I just feel like he’s in a really, really tough spot and was from the get-go this year because any first-year starting quarterback to have that kind of pressure on him is just an unfair proposition.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NFL Insider Reveals Vikings’ Honest Stance on Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold appeared first on Heavy Sports.