Schefter: Teams are going to ask the Vikings about JJ McCarthy

[StickierBuns]

Listened to ESPN radio briefly this morning, Adam Schefter was on. Said he would not be at all surprised for teams to come sniffing for McCarthy as he'd be the top QB prospect in next Spring's Draft. Mentioned that Minnesota could expect to get a #1 pick plus more. Said he had zero idea if Minnesota would even entertain it, but that he fully expects the interest to be there for several teams.

[MAD GAINZ]

I'm sure there will be teams inquiring. Every team is constantly checking on guys 24/7 looking to improve certain positions. QB is always at the top of the list.

If the Vikings trade JJ McCarthy, I'd be shocked. Regardless of what we do, JJ is still our future IMO. Kevin O'Connell loves the kid. I think it'll be more about when we think JJ is ready to be the starter, then we'll move off Sam and find him a nice home.

[purplefaithful]

Unless Sam is a perennial ALL PRO (not pro bowl) I cant see us moving off JJM.

No way

These QB decisions are where KAM/KOC will make their legacies...

[MaroonBells]

Yeah, no doubt teams will inquire, but I can't see them ever trading JJ. 

IMO, there is only one scenario where JJ might become the trade bait over Sam, and that's if the Vikings give Darnold the 3 or 4 year deal I talked about in another thread, then a year in, instead of trading Sam, they choose to trade McCarthy based on what they've seen of his development. 

But even THEN, the difference in money between the two options would be enormous and JJ would probably have to look really bad for them to choose Sam and his money over JJ on a rookie deal. Possible, but hard to see.

[purplefaithful]

Calls for the Vikings to urgently sign their quarterback to a long-term contract are premature. As Andy MacPhail once said, “Never make a decision before you have to.”

Former Jets coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan was aghast. Monday morning, right there on the television, he said the Vikings would be silly not to immediately sign Sam Darnold to a large contract.

That argument produces a powerful emotional undertow.

How could the Vikings delay in rewarding Darnold for producing one of the least-expected great quarterback seasons of all time? How could they let Darnold stew about his future? How could the Vikings not ensure the future of their most important position by acting quickly?

Like an ocean’s undertow, the emotional undertow of these arguments can pull you helplessly out to sea.

If I had to decide today whether to keep Darnold, I’d sign him.

But that decision doesn’t need to be made today.

The last Minnesota general manager to win a big-league title in an established men’s professional sports league was Andy MacPhail. He put together the 1987 and 1991 Twins World Series champions.

In one of my first long talks with MacPhail, he said something like this:

“Never make a decision before you have to. Things change quickly.”

The Vikings have proof.

Remember when the Vikings “had” to re-sign Randall Cunningham after his brilliant 1998 season?

He got benched on Oct. 17, 1999.

Remember when the Vikings “had” to keep Case Keenum, who led them to a 13-3 record and the NFC title game?

Keenum is 10-18 since then.

That’s not to say that Darnold, Cunningham and Keenum are the same player, or faced similar circumstances.

Cunningham had a great year in a great offense in 1998, but keeping him meant letting Brad Johnson go. Johnson would win a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay a few years later. Cunningham played well in 1998, but he wasn’t the primary reason for that team’s success.

Keenum played well situationally in 2017, but that team won because of a No. 1-ranked defense and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s ability to squeeze first downs out of a limited offense.

Darnold in 2024 is better than Cunningham in 1998 or Keenum in 2017. He has made every play, every throw, you would want an outstanding NFL quarterback to make.

That doesn’t mean the Vikings should start negotiating with him right now.

Keenum was playing well in 2017 … until the last six quarters of the playoffs, when the Vikings needed a miracle play to beat New Orleans at home, then were destroyed in Philadelphia

Cunningham was playing well, until that great offense scored just seven second-half points in the NFC title game.

Darnold’s story is wonderful, but he hasn’t written the final chapter.

He has earned his accolades, and has earned the chance to be a starter next season. He may be the next Baker Mayfield, a former No. 1 pick who has become a force in Tampa.

Darnold has also benefited from an ideal situation. He has one of the best offensive coaches and play-callers in the league, in Kevin O’Connell. He has one of the best receivers in the game, in Justin Jefferson, who has been willing to play decoy frequently without complaint. 

The team Darnold leads has remained remarkably healthy all season, with the notable exception of left tackle Christian Darrisaw.

And Darnold has gotten to ride the wave of unexpected success, which is far different than dealing with the pressure of a large contract and heightened expectations.

This is the point in the conversation where a savvy, veteran general manager would say, “The Vikings will probably wind up signing Darnold, but what’s the rush?”

Startribune

[JimmyinSD]

Trading JJM would be as big of a mistake as signing SD to a multiyear deal for market money IMO. If we cant get SD on a deal commensurate with his whole resume ( not just the last 4 months) then we need to use the franchise tag, take that 1 year hit, and deal with the short term image fallout, that would be better than locking ourselves into a guy that may or may not have a booming market in a year and then wasting all of JJMs rookie contract cap savings.

I think Earl Smooter said it best, "you cant ride two horses with one ass" JJM is the horse that provides the cap space to make a real reload of talent via FA and the possibility of a franchise QB, unless SD is willing to play for peanuts compared to what the market suggests he is worth, the short play with him and focus on JJM for the long term makes the most sense.

[StickierBuns]

I had the misfortune to listening to the Rex Ryan take.....OMG. What a f-ing buffoon.

[MaroonBells]

Former Jets coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan was aghast. Monday morning, right there on the television, he said the Vikings would be silly not to immediately sign Sam Darnold to a large contract.

Ryan's an idiot. I'm not going to pretend I know what the Vikings will do, but the one thing I feel pretty certain about is that the Vikings aren't going to do anything right now. I agree with the MacPhail quote: “Never make a decision before you have to. Things change quickly.”

[medaille]

I haven’t listened to Ryans take in person, but I would guess immediately, in this context, doesn’t literally mean today, but probably more figuratively expressing how well Darnold has played and that we shouldn’t be waffling over signing him.

That said, regarding the OP, the goal primarily is to get an elite QB. An elite QB is a guy that’s going to get your team to the playoffs almost every year if your GM is semi-competent at fielding a team around him. An elite QB will almost certainly bring you a SB win, and maybe more. A QB that’s not elite, but pretty good, won’t. Even the guys in the 4-10 range are so much worse than an elite QB. The top 3-4 QBs are probably going to win 7 of 10 SBs, and everyone else is competing for the remaining 3, and they probably require a perfect situation to do so.

I say that because I think we all feel that JJM has as much potential to become elite as almost any other prospect. We shouldn’t be trading him for picks until we feel pretty confident that he’s disproven that (which hasn’t happened due to injury) or that Darnold is so good that he IS elite (which I don’t think we can tell, given how good our defense has played and how much talent our skill position players have. The worst case scenario is that we trade away one QB who becomes elite for someone else and keep a guy who can’t get us to the SB. Having more time to gain more information on which guy is the best is worth more than getting a first and a 3rd who each are probably 50-50 on busting. While there is some amount of urgency with regards to Darnold, there’s zero urgency with JJM.

[Montana Tom]

Whether it is Darnold or a KOC extension, negotiating any kind of short-or-long term extension at this time of the season, right before the most historic regular season game with huge playoff implications...would be simply idiotic.

The reason is it is not worth taking one inch of mental bandwidth away from the singular focus of winning next Sunday night, and then to carry that momentum into the playoffs.

This is not the time to be distracting. The sports buffoons who keep talking are just creating content for you, because it can be made to seem controversial which translates to ratings, which translates to revenue.

February is the right time, and not a minute before.