Florio reveals O'Connell reportedly disagreed with parting ways with Darnold and Jones, preferring veteran options over McCarthy's immediate starting role.
Another layer of the onion peeled on the Vikings' 2025 quarterback decision making. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio shared insight on how Kevin O'Connell felt about the Vikings moving on from the free agent quarterbacks they signed in favor of former first round drafted quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
O'Connell may not have viewed McCarthy negatively, and we have not heard enough to believe that he has given up on the quarterback, but it seems clear that he thought the team gave up too early on not only former Vikings signal caller Sam Darnold, but possibly Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers as potential starters for the 2025 season.
Florio unearthed what he gathered from O'Connell as early as the end of the 2024 season.
"As I understand it, O'Connell got overruled. He wanted to have Darnold or Jones or Aaron Rodgers, and he got overruled. They said no to Rodgers. Rodgers wanted to play for them last year, and they said no. They're sticking with JJ McCarthy.
And (Daniel) Jones is really the one that I think galled O'Connell the most, because I think they thought they had something potentially special with Jones. Hey, the way I heard it, there was a chance Darnold was going to get benched during the playoffs last year for Daniel Jones. They put him on the active roster late in the regular season for a reason, and they really wanted to keep Daniel Jones. And Jones thought, as I've seen it reported, O'Connell's gonna turn J.J. McCarthy into a star. I'm not gonna get a chance to play."
Hindsight is 20/20, but if Florio is correct, it seems more plausible that O'Connell was not ready for McCarthy to be the starter right away. Not only was Darnold a proven commodity but so, too, was Jones.
The low hanging fruit takeaway from last year was, "Why would the Vikings move on from a 35 touchdown, 4,300 yard passer in Darnold for a yet-to-be-proven commodity in McCarthy?" Not that McCarthy has been a failure or that he will never become the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be, he still has that talent, but that he had done nothing to prove he was the guy yet.
That O'Connell reportedly was high on Jones' ability and would have been willing to hand him the keys to the offense last year adds yet another layer to the Vikings' quarterback conundrum. Nevertheless, Minnesota appears to be healing from moving on from two breakout quarterbacks in Darnold and Jones. They will look to get back to their winning ways with Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz and McCarthy all set to return when the season starts in September.