All along, the plan has been for Sam Darnold to start under center for the Minnesota Vikings this season and then hand the job over to J.J. McCarthy for the 2025 campaign. But something was revealed earlier this week that added some uncertainty to that plan.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that McCarthy recently had a minor second operation on his surgically repaired knee to help reduce some swelling that occurred during his recovery process.
After the news was made public, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell did his best to ensure everyone that the team isn't concerned about the rookie quarterback's future and that his original recovery timeline is still on schedule.
While it would great to believe every word that comes out of O'Connell's mouth, Vikings fans know better than to assume everything is perfectly fine at the TCO Performance Center, especially when it comes to the knees of the team's quarterbacks.
Sam Darnold returning to Minnesota Vikings in 2025 still possible after recent increase in uncertainty about J.J. McCarthy
If we're going by what Minnesota wants everyone to think, McCarthy is still on track to open the 2025 season as the team's starting quarterback. But it wouldn't be surprising if the Vikings have been taking a closer look recently at what it might cost the team to re-sign Darnold next year.
Honestly, Minnesota would be foolish not to. As much as the original plan was to move on from Darnold after the 2024 campaign, the Vikings also weren't planning for McCarthy to miss his entire rookie season because of a knee injury.
If Darnold is willing to sign an affordable two-year contract that has an option for Minnesota to get out of it after the 2025 season, then that is something the team might have to consider. Even if McCarthy turns out to be completely fine and healthy enough to play next year, the Vikings will then have a solid No. 2 quarterback in Darnold at the very least.
This would all, of course, depend on what the veteran Minnesota signal-caller has in mind for his future. Is Darnold looking to just cash in wherever he can next year, or is he already at the point in his NFL career where he'd rather be somewhere where he knows he can look forward to going to work every day?
Depending on how the rest of the 2024 season goes for him, it will probably be difficult for Darnold to turn down some of the money that a few quarterback-needy teams might throw at him in 2025. But returning to the place where he's experienced the most success of his entire NFL career could also be enticing, even if he's only guaranteed a backup role.
The Vikings will have a number of important decisions to make following the 2024 season, and deciding whether or not to re-sign Darnold still seems to be one of them.