Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy wants ‘fair’ shot at starting QB job amid Sam Darnold uncertainty

Much like other teams entering free agency, it’s unclear who the Vikings’ starting quarterback will be in 2025.

Unlike those quarterback-needy squads — ahem, the Giants — Minnesota has options at the position, notably last year’s 10th overall pick, J.J. McCarthy, who missed the season due to injury while former Jets bust Sam Darnold led the team to a playoff berth after a 14-3 campaign.

With Darnold’s future as a free agent still uncertain, not to mention the murkiness of the Vikings’ QB hierarchy, McCarthy said this week during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” that while he hasn’t received anything concrete from coach Kevin O’Connell, he just wants a “fair” shake at taking the reins to the starting job.

“All I could ask for is a fair opportunity,” McCarthy said, according to CBS Sports. “That’s the one thing I feel like everybody’s given and it’s fundamental. When money gets involved, things get complicated and reps get skewed and there’s different things that come into the whole political world that everyone talks about. I really just have to focus on controlling what I can control. My feelings don’t matter. I’m not getting any grace. There’s no sympathy, this is the big leagues.”

The Vikings originally signed Darnold, the Jets’ first-round pick in 2018, to a one-year, $10 million deal last March. A month later, the team selected McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Although the two competed in training camp, Darnold assumed the starting role in August after McCarthy underwent surgery on his meniscus.

From there, Darnold experienced a career resurgence, throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season, with his play fueling speculation as to whether the Vikings would put McCarthy on the trading block.

That bubble burst in January, when Darnold first imploded against the Lions with the NFC’s top seed on the line in a Week 18 loss, before cratering in the Vikings’ wild-card defeat against the Rams.

“Could he have played better tonight? I’m sure he would tell you he could have,” O’Connell said after the 27-9 loss on Jan. 13. “… Sam, and the journey him and I went on this year, will always be something that’s a special place in my heart, for sure.”

Even after Darnold’s disastrous skid, though, Vikings brass did not immediately anoint McCarthy as the team’s starter of the future.

“He’s on the field, throwing and training,” Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said of McCarthy last month. “He looks great. He’s excited … You talk about a kid who’s just obsessed with football and loves being around the game. So, we’re excited about what we have in him. We’re excited for this offseason for him. It’s a big offseason. And then, we’ll continue from there.”

There’s also the matter of Daniel Jones, whom they signed to the practice squad the fall following his release from the Giants. He was signed to the active roster in January.

Clubs can start franchise tagging players on Feb. 18 and have until March 4 to do so. The free agency negotiation period begins on March 10.