The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of a 14-win season that saw them make the playoffs as the first wild card team in the NFC. Unfortunately for them they were eliminated in the wild card round by the Los Angeles Rams.
Despite the loss, the Vikings have a lot to be proud of and with Kevin O’Connell as the team’s head coach, Minnesota could be experiencing success for years to come.
However, there’s one big question regarding the Vikings quarterback situation. The fact is that they don’t have a lot of experience between the two QB’s on their depth chart right now: JJ McCarthy and Brett Rypien.
While Rypien is a career backup, McCarthy is set to be the Vikings franchise quarterback and his journey will likely begin at the start of the 2025 regular season. McCarthy was drafted in the first-round of the 2024 NFL draft and was looking to see the field in 2024.
However, McCarthy tore his meniscus in his right knee in training camp which allowed Sam Darnold to become the Vikings full-time QB in 2024.
While Darnold had success, he faltered towards the end of the season as the Vikings got blown out by the Rams in the playoffs. With Darnold heading to the Seattle Seahawks, that opens the door for McCarthy to begin his NFL career.
Despite being with an NFL organization for at least one year, McCarthy is still inexperienced as he never saw the field in 2024. The Vikings have yet to sign a veteran starting quarterback for 2025 and it’s likely that McCarthy will be the guy in 2025.
However, is it a good idea to throw your young quarterback into an interesting situation without any veteran help. McCarthy will now only have Rypien to rely on and he exactly doesn’t have the starting QB experience to help the young McCarthy.
The Vikings were linked to Aaron Rodgers during the early stages of free agency, but they have come out and said they’re no longer interested in Rodgers.
Rodgers is looking for a team to be the guy and not a mentor, while the Vikings are looking for a former starter on the back nine of their career to show the way for the young McCarthy.
At the moment, Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson are also two options in free agency that could help McCarthy. While Flacco might be the best option as a mentor, Wilson could help the team win.
However, Wilson might get the idea that he’s the guy in Minnesota and may be reluctant to mentor McCarthy. With that being said, Flacco might be the team’s best option.
If the Vikings choose to not sign a veteran QB, then McCarthy will be on his own to figure out how to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He might very well succeed, but he will definitely have an uphill battle with the benefit of an experienced QB on the roster.
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