The Minnesota Vikings, like every team, were faced with a lot of difficult and pivotal decisions to make this offseason. Were they going to re-sign aging and injured quarterback Kirk Cousins? Could they re-sign star pass rusher Danielle Hunter? What would they do if both of those players left?
Ultimately, it was that last scenario the Vikings had to plot out this offseason, as both Cousins and Hunter left for Atlanta and Houston, respectively. Trevor Sikkema of PFF has praised how the Vikings recovered from the loss of Cousins, but maybe not in the way you would think.
In his article for PFF looking at the best offseason decisions of each NFC team, Sikkema singled out the decision to sign former Jets, Panthers, and 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold as the team’s best decision — not the decision to draft former Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
However, that’s not to say the two decisions weren’t related. It’s the flexibility that signing Darnold gives to the Vikings in their handling of McCarthy that makes the decision worth it for Sikkema:
Darnold will not be the franchise quarterback, but signing him for 2024 gives the Vikings flexibility to not rush McCarthy into action while the team remains competitive. For the flexibility and patience he allows Minnesota to have with McCarthy, Darnold was worth the $10 million this year.
It’s been well publicized that Darnold is entering training camp as the QB1 for the Vikings, and much of the focus this offseason has been on just when McCarthy will inevitably take the reins and earn the starting job. Props to the Vikings for giving themselves the flexibility to make that decision- at least according to PFF.