Kevin O’Connell Didn’t Take the Bait

NFL: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy in 2025? Kevin O’Connell refused to take the bait.

The Vikings head coach met with the media following his team’s early exit from the playoffs. The question recalled O’Connell’s earlier proclamation about McCarthy being Minnesota’s future franchise quarterback while then noting Darnold’s (mostly) excellent play over the past season. Is the team’s head coach waffling at all from his earlier position about the No. 10 pick — McCarthy — being the starter?

Kevin O’Connell: Darnold or McCarthy in 2025?

In the long run, only a single factor could derail McCarthy’s shot at taking over as Minnesota’s QB1: ongoing injury struggle. Yes, he could eventually show that he’s not a starter in the NFL with his on-field play, but that will only occur after being given the chance to shine. Sinking the No. 10 pick into the Michigan alumnus means that he’s going to get a fair shot.

Does that chance to play arrive in 2025?

The Vikings’ roster has holes aplenty and yet it’s still one that is good enough to compete. The 14-3 record proves as much and so, too, does the +100 point differential. Both of the offense and the defense finished the year in the top ten, further reinforcing the notion that Minnesota is a team that’s not to be taken lightly. A legitimate Super Bowl favorite going into the ’25 season? Maybe not, but still a team that’s deserving of respect.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) hugs Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) after 31-9 win at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.

One wonders, then, about re-upping with Sam Darnold, the quarterback who has proven capable of successfully navigating a regular season (while nevertheless leaving some doubts about being able to put it all together in pressure-packed games). Does O’Connell think it’s in the team’s best interest to bring the veteran back? Has anything changed about the team’s short- and/or long-term quarterback planning?

When asked about the possibility, O’Connell shared some thoughts. The answer begins by praising McCarthy for being a quarterback who, pre-injury, “had already done some things to confirm a lot of the special aspects of what J.J. McCarthy had been as a player at a very successful level at the collegiate level but then also in a very short amount of time, what we had deemed to be, he was absolutely on the right track.”

Keep in mind, however, that O’Connell was sure to bring things back around to praise for Darnold: “And at the same time, throughout that whole time, I do remember saying that Sam was having a great training camp and doing a lot of the things that we hoped he would do on his kind of individualized approach to being at his best and playing the best football of his career.”

The best football of his career. Without question, that’s true of Sam Darnold’s effort last year despite crumbling at the end.

Nov 24, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes the ball against the Chicago Bears during the third quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

Even with that being true, O’Connell was sure to leave things on an uncertain point: “How we build forward and how we put things together as we move into the future will be based upon what gives us the best chance to win, what gives us the best chance to put the best version of the Minnesota Vikings football team on the field. I think it’s way too early in that process to really identify exactly what that looks like.”

The head coach’s point is an important one. In the NFL, the goal isn’t to have just a great quarterback but, rather, a complete team capable of winning it all. Quarterback is, no doubt, the most important single spot when it comes to winning, but it’s still just a single spot.

O’Connell, alongside GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, needs to carefully weigh how each QB option — the veteran Sam Darnold or the sophomore J.J. McCarthy — best positions the team for success.

Joe Burrow is coming off a season where he completed 70.6% of his passes for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The Herculean effort wasn’t enough for the 9-8 Bengals to get into the postseason, underscoring the need to build a team around a star QB.

Consider, in contrast, the support offered to Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts — the pair of excellent passers who are competing for the Super Bowl on Sunday — within Kansas City’s and Philadelphia’s rosters. Minnesota wants to move toward the KC/PHI model, not the CIN model.

NFL: Super Bowl LVII-Super Bowl Experience
Feb 7, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Images of Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (18) and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) at the Symphony Hall, the site of NFL Honors. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

How the Vikings get there remains to be seen. Sam Darnold could be brought back to function as the QB1; J.J. McCarthy (alongside an upside QB2 like Daniel Jones) could end up being given the chance to lead the charge. Kevin O’Connell could have clarified which way the team was leaning but he saw the hook behind the worm, wisely choosing to keep on swimming.

We’ll all gain more clarity once March arrives. Free agency gets going on Monday, March 10th.

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.


K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.