NFL
By: Steve Rogers
First of all, let me keep it 100. I actually usually like Mr. Tucker.
ALERT THIS IS NOT REAL NEWS OR A TAKE.
Do you remember when you would kick an old empty Campbell’s soup can down the road, and that distinct sound it made clanging its way down the curb? That’s what Ross Tucker’s story is an EMPTY can hallow inside.
A. Yes, the Vikings are looking for 2nd quarterback. NO, THEY AREN’T LOOKING FOR A STARTER (ask A Rodg).
B. Yes they wanted to keep Darnold at a raise his CAREER YEAR earned, BUT not guaranteed to REMAIN the starter.
He was to be the torch passer to JJ McCarthy, whether that was preseason here in 2025 or somewhere during the season, whenever either Darnold’s play dropped or MCCARTHY just overtook him, which was already happening if we all forget.
Why would Sam not stick around the best coaches and roster he’s ever had, because his playing time was not a given?
C. Daniel Jones was NEVER offered a chance to compete with Darnold or McCarthy. He was ALWAYS going to be just the backup guy in case, which inevitably is what either and or whoever is coming is to be.
The Vikings are looking for the next Cooper Rush, Nick Foles, etc, a guy who, IF injury happens, the team isn’t stuck in the wind with pants down; they want a guy they can trust to come in and keep the ship, not just afloat, but sailing, not sinking.
As for the Vikings organization, from ownership to the management, as well as the coaches and players, all, whenever given the opportunity to speak about McCarthy, have all been in lockstep in saying from day 1 of drafting him, “He is going to be OUR future franchise quarterback.” This year the only change to that has been “He IS NOW our franchise quarterback.” There is was and won’t be any smoke to this either McCarthy isn’t can’t or won’t be or Vikings don’t believe he is the GUY.
Don’t believe the hype. This is bordering on ridiculousness on the level of the shade/slander of Shaduer Sanders. All McCarthy has done is calmly and quietly gone about the BUSINESS of winning on and off the football field. It’s well documented that he has built a career of winning on the biggest of stages.
H.S. WON a national championship
College WON the Big 10 3x
WON a national championship
NFL UNKNOWN: He has never taken an NFL snap yet. How about we stop tearing down these young athletes and spreading negativity and doubt about their abilities or potential before they have a chance to show what they can or can’t be. The Baker Mayfield debacle comes to mind as a similar top pick led the Browns to the playoffs for the first time in forever. Either by their own opinion or listening to the media, doubt Mayfield and the team moved on, meanwhile he has led the Buccaneers to the playoffs too.
Let’s swing the pendulum the other way. There is a trend growing with young NFL QBs being able to successfully transition from the college level to the pros and be highly successful from the jump. Here is the “top” of the potential pool or tier :
Lamar Jackson
CJ Stroud
Jayden Daniels
For reference that makes the “bottom” of the list look like this :
Josh Rosen
Johnny Manziel
Zach Wilson
Mitch Trubisky
Given McCarthy’s pedigree, it’s hard to imagine him winding up anywhere near the bottom list. The tier in between is where it gets interesting.
The “middle” tier :
Josh Allen
Justin Herbert
Patrick Mahomes
Baker Mayfield
Jordan Love
Look at the names here all of them have been to the playoffs or better ( *Mahomes). Also, Love and Mahomes BOTH sat out at least their rookie years. That sure has worked out well for Mahomes.
The Vikings’ original plan was to have McCarthy sit and learn from Sam Darnold and make an easy transition to the starter THIS year. However, it was McCarthy’s preseason performance that had him already pushing Darnold for the starter LAST year. If not for the unfortunate meniscus knee injury, there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t have WON the job outright either by the start of the year or by week 2. Yet here we are, essentially back to the original plan, step for step. McCarthy IS the unquestionable QB1 now and moving forward into the future.
As if we need any more assurances of McCarthy individually as a player or person, we know he eats, sleeps, and breathes ball. So much so he finds inner peace meditating under goalposts. He is just wired differently in the best ways possible. His calm and poised demeanor helps make him a natural leader in and out of the huddle. To have that already as a 22-year-old kid? Is uncanny.
Oh, that’s right, AFTER sitting out his rookie year, McCarthy enters year 2 and first on the field a year younger than Jayden Daniels, who just had one of the best rookie QB seasons in the NFL ever. His resume and natural aura put him in the company of Derek Jeter and another QB I believe his name is Tam Brody … oh I mean Tom Brady! Aka the GOAT.
Now let’s look at where he is playing or who he’s playing for the Minnesota Vikings organization. This is not a bottom-of-the-league team by roster record or organizational foundation. This IS and has quickly and quietly become one of the premier team destinations per players’ own opinions around the league. Not just by QBs either, like Caleb Williams, who going into the draft openly stated the Vikings were his preferred team. The Vikings have become football Valhalla since head coach Kevin O’Connell’s arrival.
Now pairing him with Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores and even defensive players are catching the purple haze. The Vikings have put together a top-10 defensive unit as well as a potentially top-10 offense. Before handing the keys to the offense, the Vikings went out this offseason and retooled the offensive line in the middle to protect McCarthy. They also did so to help improve their run game, which they also committed to by acquiring RB Jordan Mason. This is a team that went out and won 14 games with Darnold at the helm. Here are the weapons at McCarthy’s disposal this upcoming season.
Wide Receivers:
Justin Jefferson
Jordan Addison
Jalen Nailor
Rondale Moore
Running Backs:
Aaron Jones
Jordan Mason
Ty Chandler
Tight Ends:
TJ Hockenson
Josh Oliver
Johnny Mundt
Let’s run through what the offensive line will now look like in front of McCarthy:
LT Christian Darrisaw
LG Donovan Jackson (rookie)
C Ryan Kelly
RG Will Fries
RT Brian O’Neil
This could be one of the best offensive lines the Vikings have ever assembled. There are no glaring “holes”. Just the future holes being opened by this line for Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason to walk through.
There is so much talent and high-level support from his teammates and coaches that he can basically step into stardom with relative ease. He’s got the same kind of setup that Troy Aikman was able to successfully benefit from.
How about an even better and more recent QB comparison, Mr. Irrelevant himself, Brock Purdy. The LAST pick in the draft has taken a ready-made Super Bowl-contending roster and coaching staff in the San Francisco 49ers to 2 playoff runs, including 1 Super Bowl appearance (a loss to Mahomes and the Chiefs). Brock Purdy has also just cashed in on his 1st post-rookie deal. From the 262 pick to being paid in the top 10 not too shabby.
It would seem the evidence is overwhelmingly in support of the opposite of Mr. Tucker’s claims that the Vikings aren’t all in on McCarthy being their franchise quarterback. In fact, it would seem that as an NFL “insider,” you are completely outside of being informed when it comes to the Vikings and or McCarthy. If you had bothered to actually read or listen to any reporting you would know McCarthy is going to be the best quarterback in Vikings franchise history. I’ll take it a step further McCarthy is the most sure thing at quarterback since Andrew Luck.
Your own fellow FS1 commentator/contributor Jason McIntyre has gone on record stating that he believes the “Vikings are this year’s team of destiny!”. On ESPN’s Get Up it was proposed that McCarthy can be merely a “game manager” and be highly successful in Minnesota. Here’s an amateur tip before you make headlines you might want to try actually reading between the lines first.
