The Minnesota Vikings lost Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason and are heading into 2024 with the expectation to win now.
Instead of throwing another massive paycheck at Cousins — who was fantastic for the Vikings during the regular season but was never able to go on a significant run in the playoffs — the Minnesota brass let the Atlanta Falcons give their former QB a major payday and decided to hit the reset button on the QB position.
The Vikings signed former first round pick Sam Darnold — who spent last season as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers — shortly after the free agency period began. There’s a widespread belief in NFL circles that Darnold, who got thrown into a bad situation with the Jets out of college and never found his groove, has the tools to thrive in Kevin O’Connell’s QB-friendly system.
The Minnesota Vikings are expected to give Darnold the first chance at starting QB for 2024, but make no mistake, they drafted former Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy in the first round to be their franchise signal caller of the future.
The 10th overall pick in April’s draft, McCarthy joined the Vikings following a highly-success two-year run as Michigan’s starting quarterback. During that span, the Wolverines went 28-1 and last year captured the school’s first national title since 1997.
McCarthy is set up to succeed whenever the coaching staff feels like he’s ready to take over as the team’s starting QB. The Minnesota Vikings locked down their biggest offensive playmaker by signing the top WR in the NFL — Justin Jefferson — to a deal that makes him the highest-paid non QB in the league.
Beyond Jefferson, former USC WR Jordan Addison is coming off an impressive rookie campaign and looks poised to make another leap in 2024. While he’s still recovering from an injury from last season, tight end TJ Hockenson is one of the best in the NFL at his position and will serve as a safety blanket for McCarthy.
But before the Vikings can even engage in conversations about when their rookie QB will play, they have to get him under contract.
Stunning Details Emerge Regarding Contract Dispute Between J.J. McCarthy And Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota has not had much conversation with McCarthy regarding his contract negotiations, according to Pro Football Talk. While this isn’t the norm, the Vikings may have been content to wait until McCarthy arrives at camp before getting down to brass tacks. It’s also likely that McCarthy was waiting for fellow quarterback Caleb Williams to sign his rookie deal before he ramping up talks with the Vikings.
Williams reportedly signed his rookie deal on Tuesday, leaving McCarthy and teammate Dallas Turner as the only first-round picks who have yet to sign their rookie contracts.
Among all six quarterbacks who were taken in round one, only McCarthy has yet to sign his rookie deal with Williams inking his contract with the Bears on Wednesday. According to a new report, the Minnesota Vikings rookie is prepared to drag this out if necessary.
Following up on his report from last month, X/Twitter user @prettyrickey213 claims that the 21-year-old JJ McCarthy plans “to hold out if he doesn’t receive his full signing bonus payment upfront.”
As first reported last month, J.J. McCarthy is planning to hold out if he doesn’t receive his full signing bonus payment upfront #Skol #RickeyWasRight https://t.co/baS1kct6O0
— Rickey (@prettyrickey213) July 15, 2024
@prettyrickey213 isn’t a reputable NFL insider like ESPN’s Adam Schefter or NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. However, the account has a history of beating such insiders to breaking news, including Trevor Lawrence’s $275 million extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tyler Boyd’s decision to join the Tennessee Titans on a one-year deal.
It will be interesting to see how this standoff gets resolved between the Minnesota Vikings and their new QB. Many scouts and analysts viewed McCarthy as a prospect that wasn’t quite NFL-ready; one that needed time to sit and hone his craft before taking on the starting role. So compared to other rookie QBs, he wouldn’t have that much leverage in contract negotiations.
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