For months, all signs have pointed to Sam Darnold opening 2024 as the Minnesota Vikings‘ starting quarterback. That remains the case with Minnesota set to kick off training camp, according to ESPN, and not only that, but Vikings brass hopes the veteran will follow in the footsteps of another specific signal-caller.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell expressed the belief Minnesota has in Darnold publicly on Monday, saying that he will take the majority of first-team reps at the quarterback position, via CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, who reported that O’Connell said he will provide rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota’s 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Michigan, with “some” first-team practice reps.
“They believe there’s untapped potential here,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported of the Vikings’ belief in Darnold. “He’s never quite had a supporting cast like this. … They’re hoping maybe he can have a Geno Smith-type impact [like] in Seattle, that second act, where he had a good next career arc.”
Smith, of course, spent most of his NFL career as a backup after flaming out with the New York Jets, only to burst back onto the scene as the Seahawks‘ starter in 2022, when he threw a career-high 30 touchdowns and earned a multi-year contract extension. Darnold, who’s still just 27, is on his fourth team in five years, fresh off a one-year stop with the San Francisco 49ers, for whom he served as Brock Purdy’s backup.
As for McCarthy, Minnesota “has a plan” for the Michigan product, per Fowler: “When he’s ready to play, he’ll play.” There’s simply no rush to get the rookie under center, as O’Connell has confirmed since welcoming McCarthy to the NFL, with the Vikings preferring to patiently integrate the youngster rather than start him out of necessity.
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Author: Cody Benjamin
July 22, 2024 | 2:26 pm
