Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has inherited the throne in Minnesota, but the start of his purple reign is off to a rocky start to say the least.
The 22-year-old signal caller has only started two games through five weeks, sitting out the last three contests with an ankle injury. The Vikings have a much-needed bye in Week 6 but look to be on track for McCarthy return in Week 7 against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Carson Wentz has taken the Michigan product's place and led Minnesota to a 3-2 record after winning two of the three games he's started in. That's been enough to keep the team afloat in the NFC North so far but things could've been a lot different if the offseason didn't play out like it did.
What if the Minnesota Vikings managed to keep QB Daniel Jones after Sam Darnold walked?
After the Vikings lost 2024 starter Sam Darnold to the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, they let backup Daniel Jones depart as well. The latter is now slinging it with ease for the Indianapolis Colts and leaving Minnesota fans wondering if there might have been smoother sailing with Jones at the helm instead of the McCarthy-Wentz pairing.
Jones beat out Indianapolis' 2024 starter Anthony Richardson during training camp and now is one of the league's top passers, guiding the Colts to the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs at the moment. He's third in passing yards (1,290) and is fifth in completion percentage (71.3) among starters.
There's a very real possibility that if Jones was convinced to stick around in Minneapolis, McCarthy may actually be the backup right now.
That wouldn't be a bad thing, per se, in the long run for head coach Kevin O'Connell despite his clear confidence in the 2024 first round selection. McCarthy is essentially playing in his rookie year this season after missing all of last campaign with an ACL injury. There's still a lot of development needed and rather than doing that via trial by fire, O'Connell could've ridden Jones' rebirth back to the playoffs.
Now, there's still a lot of football left to be played this season and Jones could very well fall off a cliff back to what Giants fans remember post-2022 brilliance. McCarthy could also hit his stride after some rest, we simply don't know. But for the moment, Vikings fans are stuck playing the what if game until consistency returns to the gridiron a