The Minnesota Vikings selected J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback of the future with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but had to deal with the unfortunate injury that sidelined him for the entire season — a turn of events that led to Sam Darnold stepping in as the starter during what became one of the best regular seasons in franchise history.
Now that Darnold has left the team for the Seattle Seahawks, all the focus shifts to McCarthy, but the Vikings’ offseason moves don’t exactly reflect full confidence in the young quarterback. One analyst and former NFL head coach voiced his concerns, going so far as to suggest the return of a familiar face.
NFL Analyst Eric Mangini Explores Minnesota’s Options Under Center
In 2025, McCarthy will effectively be a rookie. With his first year in the NFL being cut short due to a knee injury, his real on-field experience will mirror that of a newcomer, and the bar set by Darnold in this system is high.
Last season, Minnesota’s offense didn’t finish strong, ultimately ranking 13th in the PFSN Offense+ metric. However, the efficiency shown during the first half of the year proved the team had enough talent to compete for the conference title, which they did with the race for the No. 1 NFC seed coming down to the final week against the Detroit Lions.
This offseason, the Vikings focused on McCarthy’s recovery, but also flirted with other quarterbacks, notably Aaron Rodgers, who was seriously considered by head coach Kevin O’Connell and the front office. These actions raised media suspicion, and Fox Sports analyst Eric Mangini suggested the team isn’t fully sold on their young QB just yet.
“They’ve invested a lot in him. I don’t know if they have a real conviction with it.
Eric Mangini and @colincowherd discuss J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings QB situation. pic.twitter.com/1bRi4eC4IW
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 12, 2025
“If you’ve got to constantly tell everybody how great your quarterback is, how wonderfully, you start to worry that they’re doing it to pump him up, to give him confidence,” Mangini said. “I didn’t love him coming out in the draft and now we’re a year removed. He’s coming off of an injury. He has no experience.”
The former coach explained that while McCarthy may have absorbed a lot mentally over the past year, what he truly needs now is practical application since real-time NFL speed, defensive looks and in-game decision-making are all still very new to him.
Considering Minnesota’s offseason moves in talking to Rodgers, contemplating keeping Darnold or even Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, Mangini floated a name that hasn’t been widely speculated but makes sense as a fallback: Kirk Cousins.
Cousins left the Vikings in 2024 to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, but his stint there was underwhelming. Still recovering from an Achilles injury, Cousins looked unprepared and was eventually benched for rookie Michael Penix Jr. following another injury, this time to his shoulder.
Kirk Cousins is the most expensive backup QB in #NFL history.
In 2025 he will be owed $40M, 14.1% of the #Falcons total cap space for the year.
What a disaster. pic.twitter.com/1JQV9zl6z3
— Hailmarypass (@Hailmarypass_) June 11, 2025
Now that the Falcons are moving on, Cousins returning to Minnesota would likely mean a backup role, offering insurance in case McCarthy isn’t ready. During his six-year stint with the Vikings, Cousins led the team to the playoffs three times and won one playoff game. He was also having a stellar 2023 before the injury.
“I could see this being a landing spot for Kirk Cousins at some point as an insurance policy if this doesn’t work,” Mangini said. “Because Atlanta, I think, wants to move off from him. And he wants to move on. And he has a good relationship with that staff and that city.”
Mangini ended with the thought everyone’s having: the Vikings want McCarthy to succeed, that’s why they spent a top-10 pick on him, but they also can’t afford to bet everything on one quarterback when last year showed they’re closer than ever to contending at the highest level.
The best-case scenario is McCarthy stepping up and keeping Minnesota in the elite tier. But if that doesn’t happen, Cousins could be the safety net a team with championship aspirations needs.