After the Vikings started the year 11-2, speculation is arising on what Minnesota will do with its quarterback situation moving forward. Sam Darnold is on his final stretch of the one-year $10 million deal he signed this offseason. The Vikings also drafted former Michigan star J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick. But after suffering a knee injury, McCarthy was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell sees Darnold’s era with the Vikings ending after this season and McCarthy taking over the reins in ’25.
“The Vikings don’t know what they have in McCarthy, but the one thing they can say with some confidence is that their quarterback-in-waiting will be cheaper. McCarthy will be entering Year 2 of a four-year, $21.9 million deal that will have a cap hit of just under $5 million next season. Darnold will be a free agent. . .It’s not that wild to imagine him looking for something akin to the four-year, $160 million deal Daniel Jones signed with the Giants after a breakout season in 2022.”
The Vikings will have a projected $79 million in cap space next year, so re-signing Darnold to a long-term deal isn’t out of the question, but McCarthy is significantly cheaper, and the Vikings drafted him thinking he was their next franchise quarterback.
