The Bizarre J.J. McCarthy Tidbit that’s Flying Under the Radar
Quite possibly, J.J. McCarthy was going to be the team’s third quarterback in 2024 had he not gotten injured. A bit bizarre for someone snagged at No. 10, but that appears to have been the plan at this time last offseason.
Most believed that Sam Darnold was facing some tough competition. After all, the kid QB did well in his lone preseason game while earning praise aplenty from the team’s leaders. The end result was a belief — both inside and outside of Minnesota’s borders — in McCarthy’s ability to be the main backup while making an earnest push to become the starter as early as his rookie season. The theory may have been misguided the whole time.
J.J. McCarthy as the … QB3?
The insight arrived courtesy of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah within a conversation with Vikings writers for The Star Tribune — Ben Goessling, Andrew Krammer, and Emily Leiker.
Consider the insight when reflecting on where things were trending with the rookie quarterback: “We were pretty clear I think publicly, that we didn’t want him to play. Not because of how he would have played, but we just thought for the life, for the kind of the better success of his career, it’s better to sit and watch.”
First takeaway: the team’s plan was to let the bridge starter be the bridge starter. Working on a single-season deal for $10 million, Sam Darnold was brought aboard to be the QB1 in 2024. The GM very openly indicated that the plan remained intact despite McCarthy’s promise.
What’s notable is simply that the GM goes on to suggest that Mr. McCarthy may have had a ceiling sitting at QB2, that he has was being viewed as the QB3 for his rookie season (presumably behind Nick Mullens).
Adofo-Mensah goes on to say that McCarthy’s improvement meant that the youngster “was pushing a little bit” while making a case for “maybe even becoming the backup.” Catch that? Performing so well meant that J.J. McCarthy could have risen to being the backup, not the starter. The suggestion is that he was the backup to the backup. Or, put differently, the QB3.
For the most part, Darnold was a healthy man in 2024. He could therefore get his career going again as he guided Minnesota to a 14-3 record alongside more than 4,300 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns.
He did, however, need to step off the field on a couple occasions. Both times, Mullens stepped onto the field and found Aaron Jones for good gains. Mullens has seen a ton in his career, so his ability to come into the game cold and still do good things isn’t a surprise. He is, in short, an excellent backup, someone who plays fearless football.
The wild thing is simply that the exact scenario described above — Mullens being the one to replace Darnold in 2024 — may have played out even if there was no knee injury for J.J. McCarthy.
Based on physical talent alone, J.J. McCarthy was at worst Minnesota’s second-best quarterback last year (possibly first, but Darnold has a ton of physical ability). Where Mullens would have won the QB2 competition is in his experience, poise, and understanding of the Kevin O’Connell offense.
Plus, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (and the team’s leadership more broadly) was investing in McCarthy in a manner that simply wasn’t present for Mullens. McCarthy was (and still is) being looked at as the long-term solution whereas Mullens was in town to function as quality depth. Their trajectories with the Vikings looked very, very different.
To Adofo-Mensah’s mind, the best path for J.J. McCarthy was to “sit and watch.” No such hindrance exists in the current offseason, as Justin Jefferson acknowledged not long ago. Full steam ahead for the sophomore to be the Vikings’ top option under center for Week 1.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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