Welp, missed the playoffs this year but the upside is undetermined at this time. JJ McCarthy is not even a wildcard. He’s an unknown at this time. I personally think he still needs humbling in order to build back up. Do the Vikings just cut their loss and move on? Hindsight 20/20 always but god damn we should have just stuck with Darnold. (I admit, I fell for the JJ lore).
Let’s look at 2025 comparisons though.
Sam Darnold: Games Played: 14, Total Passing Yards: 3,433, Yards per Game: 245.2, Passing TDs: 22, Passer Rating: 102
JJ McCarthy: Games played: 8-10 (injuries), Total Passing Yards: 1,342, Yards per Game: 167.8, Passing TDs: 11, Passer Rating: 72.1 😩
At one point this season, JJ would’ve had a better Passer Rating by just spiking the ball every play. That’s disgusting. So where does Minnesota go from here?
A) Stick with JJ
The game against Dallas was a breath of fresh air but also, it’s Dallas. I mean hitting the Griddy on a walk-in QB run? JJ does not have the juice yet to do shit like that. Make your throws, get more comfortable in the pocket and be a better game manager. In the NFL, you cannot rely on being a handoff merchant. The only positive is that his expectations are at an all-time low. You need to be a gamer. “Nine” is unfortunately not it. However, just JJ McCarthy? I can get behind that - pending some factors. He’s gotta finish the year off strong. We got the Giants in NY then Lions and Packers at home. The Giants are in shambles and we should be walking out of there with a win. Not a blowout but a 2 score game. Lions? That’s the last ultimate test. I see us unfortunately losing. For the Packers, we can beat them. Micah is out for the year and it should give JJ some ease that he won’t be lining up in front of him and on his ass every play. I project a 2-1 ending to the season. I’ll take that. Going into the Offseason JJ needs to be glued to KOC. If you see his throwing form currently, it mimics Josh Allen’s Rookie year. Josh Allen fixed it, became a 100x better passer. Follow suit JJ.
B) Stick with JJ but get Insurance via the Draft
This is pending how the last 3 of this season end up. But the Vikes have a first rounder and could easily snag someone like Dante Moore, a pure passer with deep ball finesse and accuracy. Maybe Fernando? Or Ty Simpson? Make JJ compete again for the starting role. He can’t be complacent or get a glimpse of it, ever. Minnesota is knocking at the door of being a serious threat and almost a win now mentality. Drill it in his brain or a Rookie’s brain.
C) Go Get Burrow
This has come up as of recently given Joe’s post game comments of him, what it seems, almost going down the Andrew Luck route. Yes, Burrow has had his fair share of time missed but you see the reason of that is the foundation of the Bengals organization. YOY Joe has to play with a terrible O-Line and a non-existent Defense.
What does Minnesota have? A sick defense and a great o-line. Also re-uniting with not just the purple and gold but his former teammate Jefferson. If the Vikes somehow pulled this off, KOC would be a kid in a candy store. It would be like the Darnold era, but better. Joe would have a receiving core of Jefferson, Addison, Nailor and Hockenson. Yeah, I love that. Now what would that take? Joe to come to Minnesota and we give away Dallas Turner, McCarthy, a first rounder, a second Rounder and a Third. Make that first rounder for 2027 Draft and use this one’s for an elite edge or OLB like Ohio State’s Arvell Reese.
My thoughts as of recently, let’s see. Not sure what the future looks like at this time but, we take a week by week.