Justin Jefferson: Vikings likely better if Sam Darnold stayed - ESPN

The Minnesota Vikings struggled to a 9-8 mark this season, failing to make the playoffs after a five-win decline from the 2024 season, and wide receiver Justin Jefferson can't help but wonder if things would've been different had quarterback Sam Darnold been under center instead of oft-injured J.J. McCarthy.

«Everyone knows the difficulty of the quarterback position this year, how we were dealt it,» Jefferson told USA Today Sports. «But having a quarterback that already had a season under his belt with us, knew the plays, knew the playbook, knew the players, throwing to me, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, all these guys, I definitely feel like we would have done better.»

Darnold was signed by the Vikings in 2024 as insurance until McCarthy, their quarterback of the future, was ready. But after McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury in preseason, Darnold, under coach Kevin O'Connell's guidance, blossomed in the Vikings' scheme, leading Minnesota to 14 wins after winning a total of 21 games in his previous six seasons. He ranked fifth in the NFL in passing yards (4,319) and touchdown passes (35) while earning his first career Pro Bowl invitation.

The Vikings chose to let him go after the 2024 season, however, and Darnold wound up leading the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl LX in the first season of a three-year, $100.5 million deal.

While Darnold flourished with the Seahawks, McCarthy again was hampered by myriad injuries, playing just 52% of the Vikings' snaps this season and attempting only 243 passes. He has missed a total of 25 games over his first two seasons.

Jefferson has repeatedly said that McCarthy can be the Vikings' QB1, but after watching Darnold's success this season, the question of «what if?» still