As the Minnesota Vikings prepared for their Week 13 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, it's obviously difficult for one not to wonder what things would look like in Minneapolis this year had the Vikes opted to bring back Sam Darnold on the franchise tag instead of handing the reins to young J.J. McCarthy.
Darnold, of course, signed a one-year, $10 million deal in the early days of 2024 free agency and was set to be a placeholder until whichever quarterback Minnesota selected in the draft, which obviously turned out to be McCarthy, was ready to take over.
But when McCarthy was lost for the season during training camp after suffering a torn meniscus, Darnold stepped up and led the Vikings to a 14-3 record with the best season of his career, tallying personal bests in completion percentage (66.2), passing yards (4,319), TD passes (35), and passer rating (102.5).
Darnold has continued his success with the Seahawks, including Sunday's win over Minnesota, completing 68.2 percent of his passes for 2,913 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, earning a 103.1 passer rating in leading Seattle to a 9-3 record.
McCarthy, meanwhile, has again struggled with injuries, already missing six games, including the matchup against Seattle after being placed in concussion protocol following Minnesota's Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
When McCarthy has been on the field, outside of a few great quarters, the Michigan alum has struggled, going 2-4 in his six starts while completing just 54.1 percent of his passes for 929 yards with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions, thus earning an abysmal 57.9 passer rating, the lowest mark of any NFL quarterback by a wide margin, as rookie Cam Ward sits second to last at 75.7.
So, again, it's hard not to wonder what this season could have looked like had the Vikings brought Darnold back.
But Darnold isn't the only quarterback who could have been taking snaps for Minnesota this season. In fact, if one were to look at the AFC, half the division leaders and two second-place teams have starting signal-callers who could conceivably be wearing the Purple & Gold right now.
Several AFC contenders have a quarterback who can be linked to the Minnesota Vikings
Daniel Jones - Indianapolis Colts
We'll naturally start with Daniel Jones since he's the only one who has actually worn a Vikings uniform after being brought to Minnesota a season ago following his release from the New York Giants.
Once the decision was made to let Darnold walk, the Vikings turned their attention to keeping Jones, who ultimately decided to sign a one-year, $14 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
Minnesota apparently had an offer on the table that would've given the former first-rounder more guaranteed money, but reportedly yanked the offer once it became clear that Jones didn't want to come back to the Vikings nearly as much as they wanted him to.
Jones clearly made a solid decision, as he beat out Anthony Richardson for the QB1 role and has the Colts sitting in second place in the AFC South at 8-4, completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 3,041 yards with 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions, thus earning a 101.3 passer rating.
Drake Maye - New England Patriots
Before taking McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, the Vikings were very high on Drake Maye and reportedly made a substantial offer to the New England Patriots in an effort to move up to No. 3, an offer the Pats obviously rejected.
After an up-and-down rookie campaign in Foxborough, Maye has settled in nicely and has undoubtedly put himself in the NFL MVP conversation.
Heading into the weekend, he ranked first in the NFL in completion percentage (71.0), third in passing yards (3,130), fifth in TD passes (21), and second in passer rating (110.7) in leading New England to a 10-2 record, which has the Pats in first place in the AFC East leading into their Monday night matchup with the New York Giants.
Bo Nix - Denver Broncos
Two picks after the Vikings selected McCarthy at No. 10 overall in the 2024 draft, the Denver Broncos made Bo Nix the sixth signal-caller to go off the board when they nabbed the Oregon product at No. 12 overall.
And that decision has obviously worked out well, as Nix has the Broncos in position to win their first AFC West title in a decade.
He doesn't have the gaudy numbers that Maye does, but the 25-year-old has been solid enough, completing 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,742 yards with 19 touchdowns against nine interceptions in leading Denver to a 10-2 start.
Aaron Rodgers - Pittsburgh Steelers
And then, of course, you've got longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who, before signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, did his best to complete the Brett Favre career route after his two-year run with the New York Jets came to an end.
Rodgers reportedly made a passionate plea to the Vikes to come in for one year to take one last shot at a Super Bowl and was willing to serve as a mentor to McCarthy. However, Minnesota entertained the thought, but nothing obviously came to fruition, at which point the four-time NFL MVP signed with the Steelers.
Rodgers isn't the elite QB he once was, as evidenced by his rough outing on Sunday in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. Still, he has quietly put together a solid season overall, completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,086 yards with 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions, earning a 95.4 passer rating.
The Steelers are in a fight with the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North, but the fact that Rodgers has Pittsburgh in that position is impressive.