The Minnesota Vikings got a surprisingly high level or quarterback play from Sam Darnold last season. Indeed, when they signed him to a one-year contract after he was the backup quarterback for Brock Purdy on the San Francisco 49ers, few thought he would have a Pro Bowl season that saw him complete 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 102.5.
Of course, not everyone believed that he would be the starting quarterback of the Vikings in the first place. When Minnesota selected former Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, many assumed he would get the job following the departure of Kirk Cousins in free agency.
But McCarthy tore his ACL before the season began and Darnold got the job by default. After this stellar year with the Vikings, he left in free agency himself for the Seattle Seahawks.
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Wanted to Play for the Minnesota Vikings
As fans are well aware, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a long-time rival of Minnesota, was interested in joining the Vikings after his release from the New York Jets.
Last season, Rodgers completed 63.0% of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a 90.5 passer rating. He assumed that Minnesota would want to give McCarthy another year of learning behind a veteran before making him their starting quarterback.
But he was wrong.
The Vikings informed the future Hall of Fame quarterback that they had no plans to pursue him and were, in fact, moving ahead with McCarthy. Now Rodgers appears poised to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2025 season.
Had Minnesota been interested in Rodgers, signing him would have reunited the four-time NFL MVP with running back Aaron Jones, who was his teammate in Green Bay for seven seasons.
Recently, as talk regarding Rodgers joining the Vikings died down, Jones gave his seal of approval on McCarthy:
“J.J. [McCarthy]’s a winner. If you look from high school through his time in college, he’s lost one career game. He came in [and] in his short time there, he was balling. The preseason, he ended up getting hurt, unfortunately. But I think it might’ve been a quarterback battle if he didn’t get hurt. He’s different. He’s a competitor. He wants to be great and he’s hungry.”
Jones has been around the NFL for a while and knows a good quarterback when he sees one. If he believes that McCarthy can help the Vikings remain competitive in the NFC, then fans should be sure that he can as well.
