The Vikings roster move suggests an improvement for J.J. McCarthy as a backup to Sam Darnold, leaving room for another quarterback upgrade.
The Minnesota Vikings are riding high after a strong Week 1 victory over the New York Giants. After a tumultuous offseason in which Kirk Cousins left, J.J. McCarthy was injured, and Justin Jefferson briefly withdrew, Minnesota was on fire in its season opening.
Sam Darnold… is good? That certainly seems to be the case. We are, of course, talking about a former No. 3 selection who was praised for his arm talent coming out of USC.
Darnold can make any pass, but the preseason worries centered on his pocket decision-making abilities. The Vikings kept the pocket relatively clean on Sunday, giving Darnold plenty of time to complete his reads and locate the Vikings’ robust slate of playmakers.
When Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are stretching the defense vertically — when Aaron Jones is on early-down cruise control between the tackles — suddenly, it becomes much easier to look like a star quarterback. Darnold will experience his share of hurdles this season, but it’s clear that Minnesota can execute a successful offense without Kirk Cousins.
It’s much easier to get comfortable with the Vikings’ QB situation going into Week 2, but there is still room for an upgrade. McCarthy is done for the season, which leaves Minnesota without a trustworthy backup. Nick Mullens ate a few starts last season with exceedingly mixed results. Ideally, Darnold puts together 18 healthy weeks of football. But, in the event of future misfortune, the Vikings could use a better alternative.
Thankfully for Minnesota fans, a recent front office maneuver could set the table for such an upgrade.
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