The Minnesota Vikings want to win now, but not at the expense of their rookie quarterback, who could be handling too much too soon. J.J. McCarthy is the future of the Vikings franchise, so patience is the virtue they will have to follow.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated sees the team as being “disciplined” in their approach. During his visit to Vikings camp, Breer made some notes published this week, and the handling of McCarthy was a major talking point.
“I believe O’Connell is going to be very disciplined about actually putting the rookie out there—this won’t be one of those situations where the team has a couple tough weeks, and they put him out there to try and create a spark.”
Breer also points out that the Vikings and McCarthy are still working on some foundational trait tweaks, such as his footwork and release. Those who take time to correct while playing in a live game help, but they won’t do it at his expense in the regular season.
This is why it makes sense that Kevin O’Connell said that despite Sam Darnold being the starter against the Raiders, McCarthy will see a lot of playing time.
No better time to make mistakes than in games that don’t matter.