Saturday will be the first preseason game of 2024 for the Minnesota Vikings. They are scheduled to host the Las Vegas Raiders in a Preseason Week 1 matchup that will put eyes on first time players in a purple and gold jersey.
Although preseason isn't as competitive as regular season contests, it will be nice to get a glimpse of new Vikings quarterbacks Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy. However, it will be hard to know if either of those players will get significant time during Saturday's matchup.
Seeing these new Minnesota passers in action would likely be the highlight of the game for fans. The Vikings used a first-round draft pick to select McCarthy in the 2024 NFL Draft while they invested in Darnold during free agency.
How much should you expect J.J. McCarthy to play in the preseason?
It is still a mystery as to exactly how much action J.J. McCarthy will receive during the three preseason games for the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Kevin O'Connell recently shed some light on Saturday's game when speaking on Thursday from Eagan, Minnesota.
O'Connell stated that he plans to play a majority of his players while only holding a few out of action against the Raiders. But he did offer a rather specific plan for the quarterback position with Darnold and McCarthy.
"" Sam Darnold will start the game and then we will transition to J.J. McCarthy for what I'm very, very excited to see: significant amount of work and really see him hopefully apply a lot of the things that he's been doing really well just as Sam has every day in practice.""Kevin O'Connell
The Vikings shared a video of Minnesota's head coach discussing his plan on their official X account on Thursday. O'Connell seems excited to see the team in action on Saturday and be able to see where they are om terms of progress.
Head Coach Kevin O'Connell says Sam Darnold will start at QB before J.J. McCarthy gets a significant amount of work in the preseason opener on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/et9uYadcnS
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 8, 2024
Of course, there are other fresh faces to the Minnesota Vikings who might be seeing action against the Raiders. Some of these individuals include several edge rushers such as former Houston defender Jonathan Greenard and rookie Dallas Turner.
Don't miss an opportunity to get a good look at the purple and gold on Saturday afternoon when they face off against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL preseason to get a look at Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy.