J.J. McCarthy missed all of his rookie season after suffering a meniscus injury in his first preseason appearance of 2024, after being selected in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings. Sam Darnold started in McCarthy’s absence and had a resurgent season for his career.
However, Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks at the beginning of the offseason, paving the way for McCarthy to lead the next era of Vikings football.
As ready as the Vikings are for their young quarterback to ascend, health is no guarantee in the NFL, as McCarthy already knows, and choosing the right backup is of the utmost importance. Sam Howell, Brett Rypien, and Max Brosmer are all on the depth chart behind McCarthy.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell is still looking for the right guy to back up McCarthy, and he is letting everyone know the competition for the role is open.
“There’s a reason why we’re playing all three of them. As far as what that means in the overall competition, I think I would just say that it’s still open and we’re trying to figure out what that room is going to look like for the season,” the head coach said, according to ESPN’s Kevin Siefert.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Yeah, I don’t think QB2 is on the team yet,” one fan wrote on Twitter, apparently not thinking the three in the running are up for the job.
“All of camp and 2/3rds of the preseason finished and still no clue who the backup is going to be?” another person wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see the final depth chart when the regular season finally arrives.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.