Vikings 'want' McCarthy as QB1, won't rule out more Rodgers talks - ESPN

EAGAN, Minn. — Naming J.J. McCarthy the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback is «the outcome we want» and «the outcome we're headed towards,» general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said Wednesday in the first comments from an organizational decision-maker since the team embarked on a $300 million offseason shopping spree that included direct conversations with free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Adofo-Mensah, however, refused multiple opportunities to rule out the possibility of revisiting discussions with Rodgers later this offseason if he is still available. Rodgers visited the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, but another possible suitor — the New York Giants — appears to have moved on.

«For me to sit here and say that anything's 100 percent forever, that's just not the job,» Adofo-Mensah said. «We're responding to scenarios and different information as it comes. So obviously things can change, but right now we're really happy with our [quarterback] room and we're going to look to upgrade it in different ways.»

McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 draft, is one of two quarterbacks the Vikings have under contract, along with veteran journeyman Brett Rypien. The Vikings made offers to veterans Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones, but they both signed elsewhere in part because they assumed McCarthy would soon take over the job. Asked his plans for filling out the depth chart for OTAs and mini-camp this spring, Adofo-Mensah implied the team could wait until after the April 29 deadline for free agents to count toward teams' compensatory draft pick formulas.

McCarthy has been cleared for offseason activities after recovering from a torn meniscus in his right knee last August, and he is working to regain weight after losing