The Minnesota Vikings had high expectations heading into this season after coming within one win of clinching the top seed in the NFC playoffs in 2024. The quarterback reins have been handed to 2024 10th overall pick JJ McCarthy, who was lost in his rookie year after tearing the meniscus in his right knee during the preseason opener. There was a spending spree in free agency where the priority was to upgrade the offensive line (offensive guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly) and inside the defensive line (Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave).
Despite McCarthy’s lack of playing experience, he only took 12 offensive snaps in the preseason of 2025. In contrast to the 2024 12th overall pick, Bo Nix, who was on the field for 98.73% of the Denver Broncos’ offensive plays in 2024, was under center for 40 snaps before the season.
The 2025 season was disappointing for several reasons. A big issue is the decline of quarterback Sam Darnold, who earned Pro Bowl honors last season. Outside of producing three fourth-quarter touchdowns during a 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears in the regular-season opener, McCarthy struggled in the two games he played before suffering a sprained right ankle. In the other seven quarters McCarthy played this season, he completed 55% of his passes for 214 yards while committing four turnovers and taking nine sacks.
Carson Wentz, who was signed late in the preseason to backup McCarthy after Sam Howell was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, has been inconsistent while going 2-3 in five starts. McCarthy is scheduled to return to the lineup for the Week 9 game versus the Detroit Lions, as Wentz will remain on injured reserve due to a season-ending left (non-throwing) shoulder injury. McCarthy has been the emergency quarterback in Minnesota’s last two games. To be an emergency quarterback, McCarthy had to be medically cleared to play. This sparked some speculation that the Vikings felt Wentz was the quarterback best equipped to win games at the moment.
The commitment to McCarthy cost the Vikings other viable options at quarterback: Darnold, Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers. The Vikings sit last in the NFC North with a 3-4 record. The four losses are more than the Vikings suffered last season, where they lost 14-3.
The Vikings could conceivably be 5-2 after seven games for the second straight season with better quarterback play. The games were lost by one score to the Pittsburgh Steelers (24-21) and the Eagles (28-22).
Darnold’s decision
Darnold seemed like a lock to return to Minnesota before his closing statements in the final two games of last season. He played his worst games when the stakes were highest. Darnold was terrible in the Week 18 defeat to the Lions when the wild card and NFC North title were on the line and in the season-ending wild card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. His completion percentage was 53.1% while throwing for 411 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a 66.4 passer rating. Darnold had 11 sacks in the two games, including a record-tying nine sacks in a playoff game versus the Rams.
However, the Vikings have considered re-signing Darnold. He eventually went to the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. The Seahawks signed Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract, averaging $33.5 million annually, with a maximum value of $115.5 million through incentives.
The deal was structured to give the Seahawks a small window to exit the deal after this season if Darnold doesn’t play well. Of the $27.5 million Darnold is scheduled to make in 2026, the $17.5 million guaranteed for injury becomes fully guaranteed after five days. Super Bowl LX on February 13th. The Seahawks will receive $25.6 million in dead money, the salary cap charge for a player no longer on the team’s roster, while Darnold will receive $37.5 million for one year through Seattle parting ways with him in 2026.
A quick exit is not a consideration for the Seahawks. Darnold makes it clear that his 2024 Pro Bowl season was no fluke. He completed 68.2% of his passes (131 of 192 attempts) for 1,754 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions to record a 109.2 passer rating in seven games. Darnold’s 9.1 yards per pass attempt leads NFL. He ranks seventh in the league in passer rating.
The Seahawks sit atop the NFC West with the Rams at 5-2 after missing the playoffs last season. The only negative for Darnold is that the Seahawks might be unbeatable without his late turnovers in Week 1 and Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.
Fair or not, JJ McCarthy finds himself in a do-or-die moment as the Vikings’ receiver
Tyler Sullivan
Indiana Jones
The Vikings had a pretty good sense of Jones’ abilities because he spent the final six weeks of the 2024 regular season on their practice squad after the New York Giants granted his request to be released. Jones was signed to the 53-man roster to support Darnold during the playoffs.
Not wanting to reassure Jones that there would be an open competition at quarterback like he did with Anthony Richardson this preseason led him to the Indianapolis Colts. He signed a one-year, $14 million contract worth up to $17.7 million with incentives in free agency.
Jones is having a surprising career with the Colts. He is an MVP candidate. Jones threw for 2,062 yards with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions while connecting on 71.2% of his passes (173 of 243 attempts) for a 109.5 passer rating in eight games. He ranks third, fourth and fifth in the NFL, respectively, in completion percentage, passing yards and passer rating. The Colts lead in scoring at 33.8 points per game and have the best record in the NFL at 7-1.
Incompatible with Aaron
The Vikings were Aaron Rodgers’ preferred destination to play his 21st NFL season. Unfortunately for Rodgers, coming to Minnesota was more attractive to him than the Vikings. He signed a one-year, $13.65 million contract worth a maximum of $19.5 million through incentives with the Steelers in June.
Rodgers explains that there’s still some gas left in the tank, even though he turns 42 in December. He passed for 1,489 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games. Rodgers completed 68.3% of his throws (142 of 208 pass attempts) and had a passer rating of 104.4. His 16 touchdown passes are tied for third most in the NFL. Rodgers also had the eighth-best rating in the league. The Steelers, who lead the AFC North, are said to want Rodgers back for 2026.
Monday morning QB
The composition of the roster would likely be different with any of the other three quarterbacks. Darnold’s current contract has a salary cap figure of $13.4 million for 2025 thanks to the inclusion of two phantom/voidation years in 2028 and 2029 allowing the $32 million signing bonus to be prorated into $6.4 million per year for five years.
The Vikings feel comfortable using void years in contracts. Assuming a similar contract structured in a similar manner to Darnold’s from the Vikings, the 2025 cap differential with Wentz’s deal would be in the region of $12 million.
In keeping with the $15.049 million in 2025 cap space the Vikings currently have, according to NFLPA data, keeping Darnold would have prevented the signing of an offensive lineman (Fries or Kelly) and an interior defensive lineman (Allen or Hargrave). Fries and Kelly have 2025 cap numbers of $5.67 million and $5,569,559, respectively. Allen’s and Hargrave’s 2025 cap hits are $6,421,666 and $8,017,206.
The one-year, $10 million deal Darnold signed to join the Vikings last year would have eliminated contract years from 2025 to 2028 to lower the 2024 cap number to $5 million. The Vikings have $5 million in 2025 cap charges related to those years because Darnold received a $6.25 million signing bonus.
Presumably, the Vikings would have similarly inserted a four-year phantom contract into any one-year deal signed by Jones or Rodgers. The 2025 cap likely won’t be more than $7.5 million. Wentz’s net cap increase would have been in the $6 million range. In order to maintain the integrity of Minnesota’s current salary cap situation, it was not possible to sign one of the four linemen.
In the short term, the Vikings probably would have been better off with one of their three veteran quarterbacks on the roster this season. Signing Jones or Rodgers to a one-year deal would have made more sense financially and from a salary cap perspective than Darnold. The veterans continuing to play well without McCarthy consistently showing some of the potential that made him a top-10 pick through the rest of the season will bring more attention and scrutiny to Minnesota’s quarterback decisions.