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The Vikings’ 2024 season is already starting to feel a lot like the 2023 season.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy (knee) will undergo surgery and is expected to miss the start of the regular season.
Due to the injury,Sam Darnold Now expected to be the Vikings’ starting quarterback against the Giants,” Schefter wrote on social media.
The NFL insider also revealed that McCarthy’s return time will be determined after surgery.
The Vikings finished 7-10 last season after Kirk Cousins was ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury, rotating through several less-than-ideal players. They are expected to start the 2024 season with the same record.
Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens and 2023 rookie Jalen Hall combined for nine appearances last year, throwing for 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Minnesota remained competitive after Cousins was injured, but they saw firsthand how important a starting quarterback is.
Darnold, the Jets’ third overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, has made 56 starts in six seasons. He’s a backup-level player at best, with a career completion percentage of 59.7 percent, 63 touchdown passes and 56 interceptions.
Darnold started in Minnesota’s preseason opener against the Raiders and went 4-of-8 for 59 yards. He led the Vikings on a 12-play drive for 66 yards, which ended in a turnover on an incomplete pass at the Raiders 4-yard line.
McCarthy fared better, going 11-of-17 for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his first NFL game.
He appears poised to replace Darnold at the top of the Vikings’ quarterback pecking order, with head coach Kevin O’Connell praising the 2023 NCAA champion on “The Pat McPhee Show” on Monday.
“I thought JJ played really well,” O’Connell said, praising the quarterback’s mentality in overcoming an early interception and leading his team to two touchdowns.
McCarthy, for his part, took the setback in stride. He shared an optimistic message on social media, writing that he would be “back soon.”
While the Vikings shouldn’t rush their 2024 first-round pick back from injury, they could use him sooner rather than later. Minnesota’s schedule after its Week 1 game against the Giants is brutal, with games against the 49ers, Texans, Packers, Jets and Lions from Weeks 2 through 7.
We’ve learned enough about Darnold over the years to know that while he might be fit for a start or two, he shouldn’t be the one running the show.
The longer McCarthy is out, the more the upcoming season will feel like its last.
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