Vikings plan for J.J. McCarthy this season doesn't leave much room for Sam Darnold

The Minnesota Vikings' quarterback plans for the 2024 campaign were torn asunder when J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending torn meniscus. Rather than prepping the 21-year-old to eventually take the reins this season, McCarthy will redshirt his rookie year and learn through osmosis. Sam Darnold, for the time being, has complete security in the QB1 role.

That was the expectation going into training camp, of course — that Darnold would begin the season as Minnesota's starting QB while McCarthy incubated in the shadows. McCarthy generated plenty of buzz in camp, though, and he even looked the part of a starting quarterback in Minnesota's preseason opener. Had it not been for this knee ailment, he may very well have ousted Darnold from his seat.

Darnold, 27, is a former top-3 pick who spent last season in Kyle Shanahan's buzzsaw offense with the 49ers. He didn't see the field much behind a healthy Brock Purdy, but it was a chance for Darnold to experience winning football first-hand and get familiar with an offense that bears similarities to what Kevin O'Connell runs in Minnesota.

He should be set up for plenty of success, at least relative to expectations at this stage of his career. Darnold has more or less flamed out already. He's going for a comeback arc, and the Vikings are loaded with ample talent to make it happen. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, T.J. Hockenson — that's one heck of a playmaking corps.

What happens beyond this season, however, is abundantly clear. The Vikings aren't making any attempt to mystify their future plans, which definitely don't involve Darnold.

Vikings prop up J.J. McCarthy as the undisputed future of QB position in Minnesota

A season-ending knee injury before he registers his first NFL snap is brutal, but it shouldn't derail McCarthy's career. He's young and spry, and knee injuries are less catastrophic than ever before. He should be back on the saddle by the time Week 1 of 2025 rolls around. And, judging from the latest comments from Kevin O'Connell, we can assume McCarthy will be leading the first team offense when that moment arrives.

"I want to see him, I want his teammates to see him every day,” O’Connell told the Minnesota Star-Tribune. “I want him in meetings. I’m going to meet with him personally one day a week to make sure that I can personally be challenging him on his ownership of the game plans: the why behind things we’re doing, the play intent."

McCarthy is expected to spend time every week going over the game plan as if he was going to start. That is not exactly a subtle course of action from the Vikings coaching staff. O'Connell wants McCarthy to serve as a "support system" for Darnold, but he also wants to sustain the "positive momentum" from camp.

In short, McCarthy is just biding his time until the knee heals and he can officially assume starting quarterback duties in Minnesota.

Darnold's contract is for one year and $10 million, so this is all according to plan. He won't have as much competition for reps as initially expected, but Darnold is one-and-done in Minnesota unless he truly blows expectations out of the water. Even then, another team could be more inclined to swoop in with a substantial offer, as the Vikings will have McCarthy waiting in the wings.

The Vikings are handling this the right way. Quibble all you want with the decision to draft McCarthy in the top 10 — he's the least battle-tested of his first round peers — but Minnesota's offense is set up to elevate just about any QB that comes through the system. That, plus this patient and extremely purposeful development plan from the coaching staff, makes it easy to believe in McCarthy long term.