Sam Darnold addresses Vikings' controversial decision, makes bold J.J. McCarthy claim

Members of the Seattle Seahawks will forever be grateful that the Minnesota Vikings let quarterback Sam Darnold leave the club via free agency after he guided the 2024 Vikings to a 14-3 record and a playoff berth. 

Darnold ultimately signed a three-year, $100.5M deal to join the Seahawks last offseason, and he is now a reigning Super Bowl champion. During a recent appearance on "The San Clemente Podcast," Darnold addressed the Vikings' decision to believe that 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy was ready to be the club's QB1 last year after McCarthy spent his entire rookie campaign recovering from a full meniscus repair.

Sam Darnold gets why Vikings made a business decision after 2024 season

"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 explained, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "Yeah, the business side of it, I totally understand."

In fairness to the Vikings, Darnold's nightmare outings over the final two games of his Minnesota tenure left many believing he would never be able to win on the biggest stages. The problem for the Vikings was that McCarthy largely left much to be desired with his play as a full-time QB1.

Injuries limited McCarthy to just 10 starts last season. Additionally, he also reportedly "was up and down" as it pertained to his "level of discipline." 

Darnold wasn't always an elite player with the 2025 Seahawks. He threw a campaign-worst four interceptions in Seattle's 21-19 Week 11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and he led the league for the regular season with 20 total turnovers committed. 

That said, he was brilliant in the Seahawks' NFC Championship Game win over the Los Angeles Rams, and he then played the role of game manager in Seattle's 29-13 Super Bowl LX victory over the New England Patriots.

Sam Darnold still believes in J.J. McCarthy

As for the Vikings, they are holding a competition for their QB1 job involving McCarthy and free-agency signing Kyler Murray. Darnold suggested that Minnesota is making the right move in not giving up on McCarthy just yet.  

"I think J.J. is a good player," Darnold added during the podcast. "I think he’s going to be a really good player in this league. I truly believe that. And, you know, for them to see that and be like, 'Alright, we’re gonna, you know, Sam, that was a great year,' but like the business part of it, it was like, 'OK, like, you know, I totally understand.'"

Unless McCarthy flips a switch and becomes a long-term franchise quarterback with the Vikings, Minnesota fans will be left wondering for years what could have been had the club just held onto Darnold for more than one season.