One of the most interesting quarterback situations to watch this offseason was that of the Minnesota Vikings. They entered the offseason with Kirk Cousins set to hit free agency, and not much behind him in the way of a backup plan. When Cousins took a big contract from the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota set its next plan in motion. The first step was signing former Jets, Panthers, and 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold as a stop-gap option. The second step was moving up very slightly in the first round of the draft for former Michigan star J.J. McCarthy.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell told Darnold about the team's quarterback plans on draft day, and informed him that he was likely to be the team's starter in Week 1. Indeed, Darnold knew when he signed a one-year, $10 million deal with Minnesota that the team was likely to draft a quarterback, and that he was still likely to start to open the season -- and perhaps longer, via ESPN.
"It's just more about what is in the best interest of the organization," O'Connell said of when the team will transition McCarthy into the starting role. "Those circumstances cannot affect what J.J.'s development plan is or any other player on the team for that matter. It just can't be something that selfishly ever impacts that decision.
"That really won't change because, and I don't know if it's the former quarterback in me or not, but I do feel an obligation to have the best interests of not only J.J. but our entire team, at heart, when we make that decision."
When that might be isn't necessarily clear, and O'Connell said the team doesn't have a definitive timeline for when it will happen. It's going to be about "the comfort level that he has within our offense and his ability to then translate it to adverse situations and difficult aspects of playing quarterback in the NFL aren't magnified by inexperience," he said.
O'Connell also wanted to make sure he kept expectations in check for when McCarthy does see the field. Rookie quarterbacks who find immediate success are the exception, not the rule, and even with a strong infrastructure like the one the Vikings have -- featuring O'Connell as the play-caller and Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones, and Ty Chandler among the weapons, along with a strong offensive line -- there shouldn't be an assumption that McCarthy will hit the ground running immediately.
"I want to be very clear that the expectation is for this player to not be perfect," O'Connell said. "He's going to have growing pains, he's going to learn on the fly. I'm not trying to remove that aspect of it, either, but [deciding when he will play] is not something you can write up on a board. It's a feeling."
