The Minnesota Vikings had a frustrating 2025 season. Minnesota finished the regular season 9-8 and missed the playoffs one year after winning 14 games with Sam Darnold. Now the Vikings may be second-guessing that decision after seeing all of Darnold's success with the Seahawks this season.
The Athletic's Alec Lewis wrote an article diving into Minnesota's decision to move on from Darnold last offseason.
“The most succinct way to sum up the Minnesota side of this chapter in Darnold’s story? Even though he won 14 games last season and led the Vikings to the playoffs, he struggled in several big games — including in the playoffs against, ironically, the Rams,” Lewis wrote. “As a result, the team’s primary decision-makers were never fully committed to the idea that he could be the team’s long-term franchise quarterback.”
That decision looks suspect now that Darnold is headed to the Super Bowl and Minnesota had a disappointing 2025 season.
It seems that Minnesota understood the benefits of having a young quarterback on a rookie contract. The presence of J.J. McCarthy clearly influenced their decision, despite his injury history.
“For years, Vikings ownership wanted to take a crack at a young quarterback, knowing the small cap hit would help build an optimal roster around him,” Lewis added. “McCarthy’s torn meniscus delayed that opportunity. Re-signing Darnold would have added more time to the waiting game.”
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah admitted to some second-guessing during a press conference a few weeks ago.
“There are nights you wake up and stare at the ceiling and ask yourself (about the decisions you make),” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said a couple of weeks ago. “I always go back to the process and what we thought at the time. It’s easy to go and be revisionist and be results-based. I still understand why we did what we did. The results maybe didn’t play out the way we wanted them to.”
Minnesota committed to McCarthy over Darnold and they have to live with that decision. But that should not stop the Vikings from adding competition this offseason.
It will be interesting to see the investments Minnesota makes this offseason to help McCarthy ahead of the 2026 season.
