Understandably, Minnesota Vikings supporters were devastated to discover in August of 2024 that 10th overall pick and promising rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy would be out indefinitely following a thorough meniscus repair.
Teammates are warning the rest of the NFL ahead of Minnesota’s regular-season opener at the New York Giants this Sunday to not take current Vikings QB1 Sam Darnold lightly.
“I feel like he’s going to prove a lot of people wrong and show who he really is as a quarterback with this opportunity,” Vikings running back Aaron Jones recently said about Darnold, as shared by Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “Any of my quarterbacks that I’ve had, they have a clean slate. It’s about proving yourself and what you can do now. It’s not about what you’ve done in the past. It’s about now. So I truly do believe in him.”
Darnold entered the NFL as the third overall selection of the 2018 draft but failed to cement himself as a long-term answer at the position during stints with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers before he landed with the San Francisco 49ers in March 2023.
While he spent the bulk of last season serving as a backup for Brock Purdy, Darnold impressed individuals within the Vikings with how he performed during a garbage-time appearance in San Francisco’s 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night.
It was widely believed even before McCarthy suffered his injury that Darnold would get the nod for the Giants game. Jones seems just fine with Darnold leading the troops into MetLife Stadium, where the 27-year-old used to play home games as a member of the Jets, this weekend.
“We’ve gotten a chance to work with him, play with him, and he’s a special talent. … A lot of people are sleeping on him,” Jones added about Darnold. “Early favorite for comeback (player) of the year.”
For what it’s worth, the Associated Press clarified in June that the Comeback Player of the Year Award is meant “to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.” As of late Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Darnold tied for fifth among the betting favorites at +1200 odds to claim CPOTY Award honors this season.
At that same time, DraftKings Sportsbook had Minnesota as a 1.5-point favorite for Sunday’s showdown with Big Blue.
