The Minnesota Vikings have plenty of weapons on offense, but they have a big question mark at the quarterback position.
As of now, Sam Darnold, someone who has amounted to almost nothing in the NFL, is slated to start under center, but the hope is that J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in April’s draft, will take over that spot sometime this season.
If or when McCarthy takes over, protecting him will have to be a priority, and on Tuesday, the Vikings, per Ian Rapoport, reportedly reached an agreement with offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw on a four-year, $113 million contract extension.
It’s a 4-year deal worth a max value of $113M with $77M guaranteed, source says. https://t.co/aB6hEsjZK3
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 23, 2024
Darrisaw, 25, is an up-and-coming left tackle, and in 2023, he allowed just six sacks and got an 82.4 player grade from Pro Football Focus.
In fact, the publication recently ranked its top 32 offensive tackles, and he came in at No. 4, behind only Penei Sewell, Tristan Wirfs and Trent Williams.
On the trajectory Darrisaw is on, perhaps this season, which will be his fourth in the NFL, will be the year he receives his first Pro Bowl nod.
As far as Minnesota’s QB situation, it is hard to get excited about Darnold, who has a career pass completion rate of 59.7 percent and has thrown 63 touchdown passes and 56 interceptions in 66 career games since 2018.
But he is clearly a placeholder for McCarthy, who is fresh off leading the University of Michigan to a win in January’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game over the University of Washington.
Last season, he completed 72.3 percent of his pass attempts and threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions.
