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(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
The major question mark surrounding the Minnesota Vikings is what their solution at QB will be this offseason. After missing the playoffs, seeing Sam Darnold win Super Bowl LX with the Seattle Seahawks, and firing general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, they cannot afford to run it back with the same group.
As a result, the question is what type of competition Minnesota will bring in for J.J. McCarthy. Will it be one that can take McCarthy’s job or a QB that’s content with being the young signal-caller’s backup?
On the Feb. 13 edition of “The Herd,” FS1’s Colin Cowherd noted that the Vikings need to get Aaron Rodgers, as another season with McCarthy could doom them to finish in last place in the NFC North.
“The Vikings are ready to win now with their personnel,“ Cowherd said. “I would go get Aaron Rodgers. Aaron, will you be my schoolmate? I think it works. First of all, J.J. McCarthy is going into Year 3. It is beyond durability issues. It’s little stuff, it’s big stuff. You can’t depend on it. You have Justin Jefferson, an elite left tackle.
“Minnesota has good players and an excellent head coach. Minnesota has an elite defensive coordinator. By the way, Chicago is getting better. Green Bay is improving. The Lions solve their offensive coordinator issues. You could be in fourth place very quickly with another J.J. McCarthy injury. I’d go get Aaron.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Draws Major Concern
Amid the offseason rumors, former Vikings pass rusher Jared Allen shared his thoughts on McCarthy’s situation.
“I’ll tell you, my biggest question mark right now is can [McCarthy] stay healthy?“ Allen said on the Feb. 11 edition of “Up & Adams.” “He had some good games. They go on a four- or five-game win streak at the end. He started playing better football. But in the beginning, you see that fourth-quarter comeback in the Bears, and you’re like, ‘Okay, there’s something there.’
“Then they get stopped, and then same thing, they have a game where he starts bad and comes back. So I think he has some grit. I think he obviously has some good potential. But you’ve got to stay healthy. You’ve got to stay on the field in this league.”
Minnesota Have a Sense of Urgency to Win Now
Moreover, Allen understands the urgency surrounding the Vikings, who are a team looking to win now, with several players like Justin Jefferson in their prime, and Minnesota cannot afford to waste their window.
“From a Vikings fan standpoint, you’re looking at one of the best receiving corps in the league, “ Allen added. “How long can we sustain that? We got a defense that finished the season red hot, but everybody’s getting older. Every year they get older and then those pieces start to fall off.
“If you’re waiting for J.J. to mature by year five, six, seven, all of a sudden, Justin Jefferson is ten, twelve years in. The whole dynamic changes. So I’m not going on fire selling and that kind of stuff, but there’s a lot of questions that are raised. If you can’t stay healthy, you can’t stay the starter.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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