Sam Darnold shows why Vikings are so optimistic about him in practice clip

Despite selecting former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft earlier this year, the Minnesota Vikings have emphasized multiple times during the last few months that veteran Sam Darnold is likely going to open up the regular season as the team's starting signal-caller.

On Wednesday, Darnold showcased exactly why the Vikings are completely content with him as their starting quarterback when he made an impressive downfield throw to All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold reportedly has "up-and-down" first day of training camp

Despite how impressive his throw to Jefferson in the clip above was, Darnold apparently still had multiple forgettable moments during Minnesota's first full-team training camp practice on Wednesday.

According to Minnesota Vikings On SI's Will Ragatz, the veteran quarterback had an "up and down" afternoon during Wednesday's practice.

Yes, Darnold threw the beautiful deep pass to Jefferson, but according to Ragatz, the Vikings' signal-caller also made a throw that was nearly intercepted by Minnesota safety Cam Bynum, and he missed on some passes to Vikings receiver Jordan Addison.

These things aren't overly concerning, and Ragatz made sure to mention that Darnold's overall performance on Wednesday was still solid. It was also the very first full-team practice of this year's Vikings training camp, so the quarterback might still have a little bit of rust to shake off.

If Darnold performs as he did on Wednesday for the remainder of Minnesota's training camp this summer, it seems safe to say that he will indeed be opening up the 2024 regular season as the team's starting signal-caller.

Week 1 against the New York Giants is still more than a month away, so a lot can happen between then and now with Darnold and the rest of the quarterbacks on the Vikings' roster. But after Wednesday, the odds still seem to be in the veteran's favor to beat out rookie J.J. McCarthy and begin the regular season as Minnesota's QB1.

More Vikings News and Analysis