J.J. McCarthy is a key to the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason plans, so the additional hurdle he is navigating is especially noteworthy.

Sam Darnold's future as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback is a major question mark heading into the offseason. Has the former USC Trojan earned the right to be the starter next season, or will the Pro Bowler be on the move?

The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold to serve as a stopgap quarterback while they developed rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings went out with a whimper on a Monday night, and in the process, Sam Darnold may have cost himself any shot to return as the club's unquestioned starting quarterback. A pleasant surprise for much of an explosive 2024 campaign,

When the lights got the brightest, Sam Darnold reverted to his ghost-seeing ways. And that makes it a lot easier to allow Darnold to become a free agent and to move forward with 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy.

Vikings rookie JJ McCarthy posts a potentially critical tweet of quarterback Sam Darnold's performance after playoff loss to Rams

"His appearance was a visual symbol of the neutral terms Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O'Connell used last week in discussing his immediate future," Seifert added. Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said McCarthy is on track to where they hoped he'd be after undergoing a full meniscus repair in August.

The Minnesota Vikings brain trust of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell have the biggest choice an NFL team grapples with when building out the roster: what should they do with their starting quarterback position?

Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is a relative unknown and suffered a serious knee injury, which has led to questions around the NFL.

GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who spoke before O'Connell, said he had just run into McCarthy while walking around TCO Performance Center prior to his press conference. He said McCarthy was in the weight room doing "those cool quarterback thrusty things that Dak (Prescott) does." He also noted that the rookie QB is back to throwing in on-field workouts.

A total of 10 quarterbacks, running backs and receivers were taken in the first round of the 2018 draft. Seven years later, only two are still with the team that drafted them. Of course, they are two of the best players in the NFL: Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (seventh overall pick) and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (32 nd ).