Very Soon, Vikings Will Complete Litmus Test on J.J. McCarthy
A jolt got sent through NFL airwaves with the news of a Kirk Cousins who is soon to be cut. Given how these past couple of seasons have gone, Cousins being employed by the Vikings yet again makes some sense for player and team alike.
Lingering around the various passer possibilities is the ongoing employment of J.J. McCarthy. Whoever gets added is going to reveal much about the Vikings’ perspective on the No. 10 from the 2024 NFL Draft. Indeed, a pricey, top-tier addition indicates that McCarthy is skating on thin ice whereas a modest addition points toward a different reality.
The Vikings, J.J. McCarthy, & The QB Competition
Imagine a world where the Vikings get ultra frisky in free agency. Does the team land Malik Willis, who comes in at No. 1 on Gregg Rosenthal’s list of free agent talent?
If so, then much will have been learned.
Go ahead and think back to recent history. Landing Sam Darnold in 2024 on a single-season deal for just $10 million suggested that the QB1 job was being subject to a true competition. The financial commitment, or lack thereof, revealed as much. Darnold was preferred but not by such a vast margin that he couldn’t be overcome.
But then consider Darnold’s next deal, the one that got signed to become Seattle’s top passer. He became a Seahawk for a touch above $100 million across three years. At minimum, Seattle indicated that Darnold would be the top quarterback for a single season (if not longer, as is now the case).
Likewise, the Vikings will tell the world much based on what gets sacrificed to enhance the quarterback competition.
In August, Mr. Cousins is going to arrive at his 38th birthday. Darn near middle aged, meaning Cousins is ancient in the NFL. Signing him to a year and roughly $5 million means that McCarthy is still in the running to run the offense.
Willis, though, is a different example. Younger, talented, and on the ascent, Willis could land a beefy deal. If so, then a team will be making a commitment to a starter. Coaches inevitably slip into the normal football lingo, lacking persuasion when talking about there being a genuinely open competition. The reality is that the NFL tells the truth when money gets inserted into the mix. The Vikings are no different.
Giving Willis a Darnold deal (the Seattle version) means that Minnesota has demoted McCarthy.
As has been said a time or two, actions speak louder than words. Such is the case in the NFL, a workplace where a coach can offer a pile of praise to a player on one day before not giving that player any snaps the next. As a result, there always needs to be a healthy skepticism that looks to accurately understand reality. More important that what gets discussed is what gets done on the field.
The offseason version of that reality is how the money gets spent.
What’s known at this stage is that the Minnesota Vikings are soon to welcome meaningful quarterback competition for J.J. McCarthy. Anything less would be football malpractice. All that remains uncertain is the quality of that competition alongside how pricey that enhanced competition ends up being. Cousins for cheap says much; Willis for much says quite a lot, too.
The NFL will see free agency get started on March 9th.
