Kevin O'Connell must keep Sam Darnold focused going forward
It's a welcome thing, of course, having rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy back with the Vikings in the wake of the season-ending knee surgery he had last month. McCarthy is a promising prospect, after all, a national champion at Michigan picked at No. 10 in April's draft.
It's also a somehwat uncomfortable thing, as the current Vikings starter, Sam Darnold, has the team off to a 5-2 start and appears to have cemented his status as an NFL starter, despite bouncing through four organizations in the last six years before landing with Minnesota.
Darnold has slowed down recently, but still has racked up 1,610 yards in seven games, with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is on a one-year, $10 million contract and is slated to be a free agent in March, meaning Minnesota will either re-sign him and figure out what to do with McCarthy, or Darnold will leave to head elsewhere.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Making things awkward is that McCarthy is getting more ensconced with the Vikings, even as he is recovering.
As SI.com's Albert Breer wrote: "Rookie first-rounder J.J. McCarthy was part of the team’s traveling party for the first time (last week). He went out to dinner in L.A. with the quarterbacks Wednesday night and was on the headset on the sideline Thursday night. He’ll be with the team going forward, but most of his focus is still on rehab."
Breer also wrote that coach Kevin O'Connell is hoping to stay on top of the situation and not force any anxiety into the quarterback room on Darnold's part.
Wrote Breer: "He’s been consistent, and proven to be a good fit for the Vikings’ offense. As for what that means going forward, Kevin O’Connell has addressed the elephant in the room, and told Darnold to worry about having a good day, a good practice, a good game.
"After that, they’d all address what would be a very good problem down the line."
Indeed, the best-case scenario for Darnold is that he continues to play well and leads the VIkings into the playoffs, which spurs the team to sign him to a huge new contract. At worst, though, the Vikings turn back to McCarthy after this year, and Darnold signs a big contract with a quarterback-needy team.
At Spotrac, Darnold is listed with a market value of more than $33 million per year, with a projected four-year, $134 million deal lined up.
