Vikings’ 2025 QB candidates: Three logical targets for J.J. McCarthy insurance if Sam Darnold exits

The Minnesota Vikings went out with a whimper on a Monday night, and in the process, Sam Darnold may have cost himself any shot to return as the club’s unquestioned starting quarterback. A pleasant surprise for much of an explosive 2024 campaign, the journeyman utterly crashed at the finish line, leaving the Vikings with consecutive high-stakes duds before an inevitable trip to free agency in the spring.

Could Darnold return on another team-friendly prove-it deal, with first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy still recovering from multiple knee surgeries? It’s possible. It’s just as, if not more, likely that Vikings brass will say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” weighing Darnold’s finish more than his 14-3 regular-season record. They let a more established Kirk Cousins walk the year prior, after all, and made a premium investment in McCarthy.

In the event Darnold signs elsewhere, however, the Vikings will almost assuredly pursue some form of cheaper insurance for McCarthy. Darnold served that role in 2024, and just so happened to seize the moment, exceeding expectations until the very end. So which names could be on their radar? Here are a few candidates to join the ship as 2025 flyers, either in competition with McCarthy or as fallback options:

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