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(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Vikings let Sam Darnold walk last offseason in order to pave the way for JJ McCarthy to step into the QB1 role. Earlier this week, Darnold broke his silence on that decision, which ended with a Super Bowl ring for the quarterback and unemployment for former Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

The Seattle Seahawks starter spoke with “The San Clemente Podcast” in April about his departure from Minnesota after one year, in which he led the team to a 14-3 record and a playoff berth, fully reviving his career in the process.

“I totally understand the move to go with the younger quarterback on a rookie deal, and signing these veteran players that you can maybe pay a little bit more while he’s on his rookie deal, especially if you believe in him,” Darnold said. “The business side of it, I totally understand.”

Darnold also talked directly about his opinion of McCarthy as a player.

“I think JJ is a good player,” Darnold continued. “I think he’s going to be a really good player in this league, I truly believe that.”

Sam Darnold Was Healthier Than JJ McCarthy, Outplayed Him Significantly in 2025

GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy.

Darnold left for a $100.5 million deal across three seasons with the Seahawks and won a title with the NFC West Division champs last year. He put up 4,048 passing yards, 25 TDs and 14 INTs during the regular season, one year after tallying 4,319 yards, 35 TDs and 12 INTs with the Vikings in 2024.

The quarterback earned Pro Bowl honors in each of the past two campaigns for the first two times in his eight-year NFL tenure.

Meanwhile, McCarthy battled through injury issues again in 2025 after missing his entire rookie campaign following knee surgery. He ended up with a 6-4 record as the starter, completing 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 TDs and 12 INTs.

Vikings Already Looking to Replace JJ McCarthy With Kyler Murray

GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray.

Minnesota won five games in a row down the stretch of last regular season to go from 4-8 to 9-8 and finished the campaign with a winning record.

Even despite that, ownership moved on from Adofo-Mensah, in large part because of the team’s five-game regression in win/loss record and Darnold’s correlating success. In the aftermath, the Vikings inked Kyler Murray to a one-year contract, ostensibly to replace McCarthy in the starting lineup.

Should Murray, a two-time Pro Bowler entering his age-29 campaign, succeed in Minnesota, it could mean the end of McCarthy’s run with the Vikings. He was the No. 10 overall pick in 2024 and is under contract through 2027. Minnesota also holds a team option on his deal in 2028, which it will have to decide on by May 1 of next year.

In retrospect, it is hard to argue that the Vikings wouldn’t have been better off holding onto Darnold and McCarthy last season and adopting a strategy of ‘may the best quarterback win.’ It appears now that the best QB did win, just in Seattle, while the Vikings are back to square one at the game’s most important position.