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Why Vikings passed on Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers for J.J. McCarthy
It has been an interesting offseason for the Minnesota Vikings, especially at the quarterback position.
After a 14-3 season, the Vikings lost in the first round of the NFL playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams. Sam Darnold, who led Minnesota to the postseason as the starting quarterback, wasn't re-signed.
The 2024 Pro Bowler was stellar, but the Vikings didn't want to ink him to a long-term deal. They also passed on four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, following conversations between the team and the former Packers player.
According to reports, Minnesota chose not to sign Rodgers because they believe J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, can be an effective signal-caller for them.
It might seem like a stretch to choose to start McCarthy this season, having just come off a season-ending injury, instead of opting for Darnold or Rodgers.
Yet, a new report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler explains why.
"Vikings feel like J.J. McCarthy in Day 9 of these offseason workouts is a lot stronger than Day 1," Fowler explained.
.@JFowlerESPN with some @Vikings intel on J.J. McCarthy so far through OTAs and Minicamp:
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) June 14, 2025
“Vikings feel like J.J. McCarthy in Day 9 of these offseason workouts is a lot stronger than Day 1.”
pic.twitter.com/FiJ1sjrxXk
Fowler went further, though, saying that Minnesota "believes" it can win a Super Bowl with the 22-year-old quarterback, in part because he will have three more years on a rookie deal.
That will enable Minnesota to be aggressive in building its roster, which is already regarded as one of the best in the league.
"They didn't sign Rodgers and went with McCarthy because they believe in their three-year plan. They believe they can win a Super Bowl in the next three years," Fowler said.
McCarthy will have some growing pains this season. He will essentially be a rookie, but his talent is undeniable. And if he can learn on the fly this season, Minnesota has the talent to be a Super Bowl contender.
However, the Vikings are focused on the next three years, not just 2025. McCarthy may not give Minnesota the best chance to win a Super Bowl this season, but over the next three years, he will.
That's why McCarthy will be the starting quarterback in Week 1. Not Rodgers or Darnold.
More must-reads:
- Steelers coach sends warning to receivers about being on 'same page' as Aaron Rodgers
- Steelers' Will Howard details how he's already being mentored by Aaron Rodgers
- The 'NFL MVPs' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Raiders staff 'changed their mind' on Jackson Powers-Johnson
First-year head coach Pete Carroll is tinkering with the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line early in training camp. On Tuesday, second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson was moved to the second-team unit at center, with Jordan Meredith handling the first-team reps, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic. On Thursday, Powers-Johnson was moved to the first-team right guard. The Raiders initially wanted Powers-Johnson to play at center in the upcoming season, but "changed their mind" when they released veteran Andre James in March. "Powers-Johnson started games at guard last year, but the intent was for him to lock in on center after the team released Andre James this offseason," Reed wrote. "That was the case through OTAs, but the staff changed their mind once training camp got rolling. "According to coach Pete Carroll, the logic is Meredith is too small to play guard but holds up well at center. They signed Alex Cappa to start at right guard, but Powers-Johnson is a superior option there." Meredith, a six-foot-two, 300-pound athlete, is decidedly much smaller than the six-foot-three, 328-pound Powers-Johnson. Carroll believes the competition between Meredith and Powers-Johnson this summer will ultimately make the team better. "It's the heart of everything," Carroll told reporters on Thursday regarding the battle at center between Meredith and Powers-Johnson, via video from Taylor Rocha. "These guys are battling for their playing time... JPJ is working his tail off, and both those guys are battling, so it just makes us better." It's hard to see the Raiders benching Powers-Johnson if Meredith earns the starting center job. He should at least earn the starting right guard job after he made the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2024. He is too talented not to start for Las Vegas.
Notre Dame quarterback race takes surprising turn
The Fighting Irish opened up training camp at the LeBar Football Practice Fields in Indiana on Thursday, marking the first day of Notre Dame's quarterback competition between Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr. The team is searching for former QB Riley Leonard's replacement before they travel to play Miami on Aug. 30. Per The Athletic's Pete Sampson, Minchey earned first-team reps while Carr threw three interceptions during the first practice of the summer. Minchey getting the majority of first-team reps might come as a surprise to many fans who thought Carr was expected to run away with the starting job. Earlier this month, ESPN's Mark Schlabach named Carr the Irish's "X factor" heading into the season. Given his three interceptions in practice on Thursday, the freshman has much to prove before he can take away the starting gig from Minchey. Minchey didn't blow anyone away with his play on Thursday either. However, the sophomore might have done enough to continue with the first-team offense until Carr stops creating turnovers. Minchey might be head coach Marcus Freeman's desired starter for the upcoming season. In May, Freeman told Sampson that the coaching staff was looking to design the third-down offense around Minchey before training camp. “I wanted to be like, ‘I like your book and all those things, and thanks for the compliments, but the reason we went for it on fourth down was because of the confidence we had in getting that first down.’” Freeman said via The Athletic. “And so, I sat with the offense and said, 'OK, Kenny Minchey isn’t the running quarterback that Riley Leonard was — how do we create that confidence in the head coach that we can sequence things on third down, knowing that we’re going to go for it on fourth down?'” For now, the job is Minchey's to lose.
Dodgers' Dave Roberts Shuts Down Reports of LA Trading Key Player
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a few hours left until the trade deadline. After landing a few prospects in a three-team deal with the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays, and reuniting with Brock Stewart by way of the Minnesota Twins, there is still chatter among the baseball world as to what the Dodgers will do next. Recently graduated top prospect Dalton Rushing has established himself as the new backup catcher for the defending champions after being called up in May, and LA parting ways with longtime backstop Austin Barnes. With the rumor mill churning like never before, the 24-year-old catcher was linked to a few contenders ahead of this exciting deadline. Manager Dave Roberts recently spoke on Rushing being involved in these rumors and what he thinks will happen to the backstop. "I just don’t see a world in which he’s moved anyway and I think he’s smart enough to realize that," Roberts said. Rushing was raking in Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, batting .308/.424/.514 with a .938 OPS across 31 games. He added five home runs and 17 RBIs during this time. With a clear need to bring up another strong bat, Barnes was designated for assignment and Rushing was called up. So far in his MLB debut, Rushing is hitting .200 with a .545 OPS through 29 games. Although his early struggles are common for recently called up prospects given the expectations and pressure on the young man, it is certainly not a sign that the Dodgers would look to trade him. Catching prospect Hunter Feduccia was flipped on Wednesday as a result of the Reds and Rays deal, further shrinking the catching depth in the Dodgers organization. Parting ways with Rushing before he has shown his fullest potential in the majors makes less sense as the days go on, and it doesn't look he will be in a different uniform beyond Aug 1.
Phillies' blockbuster trade just upped the pressure on Dodgers
The Philadelphia Phillies struck a deal to land a big bullpen arm in Jhoan Duran on Wednesday night, not only boosting their own relief corps but also putting more pressure on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both the Dodgers and Phillies had been linked to Duran, a right-hander who posted 12 saves along with a 2.01 ERA so far this season. However, it was Philadelphia that struck the pre-trade-deadline deal, bringing the 27-year-old on board in exchange for a pair of the franchise's top 10 prospects. Now the next move belongs to Los Angeles. Both the Phillies and Dodgers are expected to be among the teams competing for the National League title in October, but Los Angeles is in desperate need to reinforce its bullpen before that happens. Dodger relievers Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol have all spent time on the injured list this year, and the Los Angeles bullpen has suffered with their absences. Entering Wednesday's action, Dodgers relievers had posted a minus-3.4 Wins Above Average (WAA), placing Los Angeles 25th among MLB's 30 teams in that category. Additionally, Dodgers starters have thrown just 493.1 innings this year. That's the lowest number in MLB and makes Los Angeles the only MLB team to have their starters not cross the 500-inning threshold. With L.A. starters not going deep into the game and current Dodger relievers struggling with health and performance when called upon, it's clear that Duran would have been a big piece for the Dodgers to add to their personnel puzzle. With Duran heading to Philadelphia and Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase off the trading block after being the subject of an MLB investigation, the number of true impact relievers is dwindling ahead of Thursday's 6 p.m. (Eastern) MLB trade deadline. Minnesota's Griffin Jax is still a possibility, as is David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the clock is ticking on the Dodgers to make a move ... and it will likely be a costly one in terms of prospects. In the wake of the Phillies claiming arguably the biggest bullpen prize of the trade deadline, Los Angeles can't afford to wait.
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