We all know what the Minnesota Vikings coaches have said about the “competition” at quarterback. It’s well established that they have a plan with first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and they will bring him along at the pace they’re comfortable with. That likely means that Sam Darnold is going to be the starting quarterback when the 2024 season starts.
But is that the end of the story? How much wiggle room is there in the “plan,” and could McCarthy play his way into a starting role earlier than people may have thought? If he’s going to do any of that, he’s going to need reps—and those reps need to be with the first-team offense.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell is well aware of this and will give McCarthy an opportunity to capitalize on it. According to ESPN’s Minnesota Vikings beat reporter Kevin Seifert, O’Connell said that McCarthy “will eventually get some consistent first-team reps in training camp.”
However, O’Connell also quickly pointed out that Darnold “had earned the right to get the bulk of them (first-team reps) to this point.” Seifert went on to say that McCarthy will see those reps come when the offense hits the “sweet spot” of their offensive installation.
Kevin O'Connell said today that J.J. McCarthy will eventually get some consistent first-team reps in training camp, but that Sam Darnold had earned the right to get the bulk of them to this point. It'll happen when the offense gets to what he called the "sweet spot" of install.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) July 30, 2024
It’s early in the training camp process, but we’ve already seen several encouraging signs from the rookie quarterback. It’s always important to take training camp reports with a grain of salt, as everyone is overly optimistic these days. But the fact that this discussion is even taking place after just a few practices should likely be seen as a good sign.