The Minnesota Vikings are among the teams with a decision to make early this offseason to determine which direction to go at quarterback, with a handful of options still in play.
With the ongoing debate over whether the Vikings should retain 2024 starting QB Sam Darnold, or whether to move forward with the promising but inexperienced J.J. McCarthy, wide receiver Justin Jefferson said he's glad he doesn't have to be the one to make the choice.
"Luckily, that ain't my decision," Jefferson said recently, via . "I'm sitting back, and I'm waiting for all of these decisions to be made. I'm really just showing up and being myself and making the plays that I make. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what we're going to do with Sam, if we're going to bring him back. Of course, J.J. is going to have his opportunity to make some plays and to see if he's going to be the starter."
Darnold took over in the starting role in 2024 and led the Vikings to the brink of the No. 1 seed and a playoff berth with play that far exceeded anything he'd shown in his career up to this point. Now, the 27-year-old could be a valuable commodity set to earn a pretty penny in the free agent market, that is if the Vikings don't ink him to a new deal first.
Complicating things for Darnold and for Minnesota was the ending of his season. In a turnaround from his impressive play for most of the season, Darnold seemed to revert back to the struggles from earlier in his career at the most pivotal moment, falling short in both the Vikings' regular-season finale against the Lions and in the Divisional Round versus the Rams. How that impacts his possible value both on the market and to the Vikings remains to be seen.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell threw fuel on the fire last week by indicating he thought Darnold would be a part of Minnesota's efforts to win a Super Bowl this upcoming season, though he later walked that back a bit as he reaffirmed that no decisions have been made yet.
On the other side of the discussion is McCarthy, who the Vikings spent a first-round pick on in last year's draft, but did not play a regular-season snap after suffering a torn meniscus in the preseason. He is still on the road to recovery and has expressed that he just wants a “fair opportunity” at earning the starting role once he returns to the field. His limited action in the preseason was promising, but was it enough to warrant the Vikings allowing Darnold to leave in free agency?
While Jefferson acknowledged the difficult balancing act to consider and this decision's likely huge impact on the team's future success, he's choosing to trust himself to ball out no matter who's under center.
"I'm not sure exactly what we're going to do with Sam and the moves that we're going to make, but I'm always confident in myself," Jefferson said. "It don't matter who's going to be throwing the ball, I'm going to make a play for sure."
Jefferson has backed up that claim of consistency despite the Vikings' recent quarterback turmoil, as the star wide receiver has put up 1,000-plus yards in each of his five seasons. That includes that 2023 campaign, where Jefferson had to contend with four different starting quarterbacks and his own injuries that limited him to 10 games. And yet, he still averaged 107.4 yards per game to hit the 1,000-yard benchmark, giving credence to his claim that for him at least, whoever's throwing him the passes might not be the most important detail.
Minnesota will need to take a first step towards a decision sooner rather than later, with less than a month before Darnold will hit the free agency market without a new deal.
