Ever since Sam Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win this past Sunday, just about anyone with a pulse has weighed in on the decision by the Minnesota Vikings to move on from him last offseason and go with J.J. McCarthy as the team's starting quarterback for the 2025 campaign.
On Wednesday, former Vikings linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks shared a clip online of them discussing how their old team handled their quarterback situation in 2025.
"Barr: Most people in that building knew that J.J. just wasn't quite ready yet. I think he needed an older mentor to kind of shadow for another two years.
Kendricks: Mentorship is crucial. There's some positions where it pays to have a veteran in front of you, and a little bit of experience goes a long way. I mean, we see the resurgence of Sam Donald's career.
Barr: The city's dying for a champ. The state's dying for one.
Kendricks: I agree.
Barr: I think [McCarthy] still has potential. I think he can still be great. He's a quarterback. He's a year two, right? Year two, playing full-time.
Kendricks: We're not counting him out.
Barr: I think they do regret not signing a vet to let J.J. learn from for another one or two years. I mean, quarterbacks, they're not granted or afforded the same patience that a lot of different position players are given."
Former Minnesota Vikings LBs Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks not counting out J.J. McCarthy yet
Barr and Kendricks have tons of NFL experience from their time spent with Minnesota and other teams around the league, so they've seen what typically works and what doesn't when it comes to the quarterback position.
Barr is right, though, when he mentioned that the Vikings probably regret not bringing in an older backup to help mentor McCarthy. Minnesota did sign Carson Wentz last year, but it was right before the start of the regular season, so McCarthy didn't get to learn from him during OTAs and training camp, which could have been very beneficial.
Instead, the Vikings spent the 2025 offseason with a quarterback room that didn't include anyone who had any legitimate success in the NFL. McCarthy and rookie Max Brosmer had never made a start at the pro level, while Sam Howell and Brett Rypien had a combined record of 7-15 as starters in their careers before 2025.
So, even if Minnesota wants to give McCarthy another season as a starter to see if he can get anywhere near his potential in 2026, they should, at the very least, add a veteran quarterback before OTAs who has actually proven in the past that he knows how to consistently win at the pro level.