The No. 1 storyline early in the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp is the expected one, with everyone chronicling the practice exploits of Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy on a daily basis.
Right up until he names a starting quarterback -- with full acknowledgment that the sooner he does so, the better -- head coach Kevin O’Connell will continue to be a coach-speak-driven politician whenever he’s asked about the situation.
In their most recent comments, in contrast to what each of them said in June, Murray and McCarthy followed O'Connell's “use a lot of words to say nothing” template.
While discussing Minnesota's current quarterback battle, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden criticized the organization and pointed to the departures of Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones. What he failed to mention was that both left Minnesota for better opportunities, not because the Vikings simply let them walk.
Jon Gruden ignored the big picture of the Minnesota Vikings' 2025 QB situation
During a recent appearance on FS1’s “Wake Up Barstool,” Gruden was asked about the Vikings’ quarterback battle. More specifically, he was asked about the timing for a head coach to name a starter in a situation like that.
Gruden acknowledged how preseason games aren’t all that valuable, since starters hardly play, if at all. So he thinks Murray will be the starter, but he added a harsh layer to his sentiment.
“I gotta think that Kyler Murray is gonna be the guy personally, but I don’t understand what the hell is going on in Minnesota. How you let Sam Darnold walk out of there after the year he had, winning 14 games, and how you let Daniel Jones out of there, I have no idea. You get what you deserve in this business, but knowing Kevin O’Connell, I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”
In creating a couple of soundbites, Gruden seems to have forgotten a few things about the Vikings’ quarterback situation circa the 2025 offseason.
Darnold cost himself a lot of money in his final two games as a Viking in 2024. Even if he hadn't performed so poorly, he wasn't going to get a multi-year deal to stay in Minnesota, with McCarthy becoming the top priority under center. He found one from the Seattle Seahawks, and the rest is history with a fresh Super Bowl ring on his finger. That Super Bowl win was not going to happen last season with the Vikings.
The Vikings wanted very badly to keep Jones alongside McCarthy. But Jones saw an opportunity to start with the Indianapolis Colts, very similar to what brought Murray to the Vikings this offseason, and took it. No one blames him for that, and other than a torn Achilles that ended his 2025 campaign early, things are going well for him there.
So how do you "let Sam Darnold walk out of there” or “let Daniel Jones out of there”? Circumstances that are mostly out of your control are how they left on their own, motivated by better-looking opportunities.
The biggest miscalculation the Vikings made during the 2025 offseason, until shown otherwise, was casting their lot so strongly with McCarthy. The departures of Darnold and Jones did not mean having to wait until Day 3 of the draft to trade for a more viable-looking No. 2 quarterback. There were plenty of good veteran backup options available in March, and all were essentially ignored.
Of course, Sam Howell didn’t work out at all, leading to the signing of Carson Wentz late last preseason.
A year-plus of hindsight makes it easy to lament the fact that Darnold and/or Jones left the Vikings. There is certainly a level of criticism to go around for why the quarterback situation dissolved the way it did last season, even if former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been offered up as the scapegoat.
The Vikings getting what they deserved because Darnold and Jones left is a stretch. Not to mention it leaves out the full context of the situation with both guys. Gruden either ignored or forgot about that context, as he added extra commentary to the idea that Murray will be the Week 1 starter this year.
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