J.J. McCarthy will be 'long term starter,' but Vikings will get 'money's worth' with Sam Darnold

J.J. McCarthy was drafted to be the franchise quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, but you’ll have to pump the brakes while Sam Darnold is in town.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Darnold, who signed a one-year deal with the team for $10 million, is in line to get all of the opportunity to lead the Vikings this year. Essentially, the Vikings will make due on their investment.

So while that’s going on, McCarthy will be developed behind the veteran.

“Now you got the Vikings, a little bit of a different situation because they got Sam Donald, they believe there’s untapped potential there that he can let it rip in 2024,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Never had a supporting cast quite like this, the talent is still there.

“So they can develop JJ McCarthy behind the scenes, incrementally give him more and more in a high volume passing attack. Will be the long term starter, but Darnold, I mean they paid him $10 million a year, they believe they’re gonna get their money’s worth.”

This lines up with Fowler’s previous report of the VIkings preparing to give McCarthy a “redshirt year” while he’s a rookie. The concept of McCarthy developing and learning as a rookie is not a foreign concept to the national champion quarterback.

“The only expectations I put on myself is to know the playbook inside and out, to be the best teammate I could possibly be, show up and work harder than everyone else in this building,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know if I can outdo (coach Kevin O’Connell), but I’ll try. But yeah, (those are the) only expectations for myself.”

McCarthy wants to be out there with a loaded offense. But, he has to bide his time, learn and develop for now.

“Being the competitive that I am, of course (I want to play),” McCarthy said. “But this is such a blessing for me, like I grew up watching Sam Darnold my entire life. And being able to just sit there and watch him, watch Nick (Mullens), watch (Jarren Hall) and it’s not what they say to me. It’s what they do and just being a sponge. 

“Just observing them and eventually, hopefully, one day surpassing them, but right now, you know, they’re just phenomenal human beings that are sharing their wisdom with me. And, you know, I just can’t thank them enough for that and I can’t wait for training camp.”