Minnesota Vikings fans were understandably disappointed to learn in August that promising rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, would be out indefinitely after undergoing a thorough meniscus surgery.
Teammates are telling the rest of the NFL, ahead of Minnesota's regular-season opening against the New York Giants on Sunday, not to underestimate current Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.
"I feel like he's going to prove a lot of people wrong and show who he really is as a quarterback with this opportunity,"
Vikings running back Aaron Jones recently said of Darnold, as reported by Kevin Seifert of ESPN.
"All of my quarterbacks have had a clean slate. It's about proving yourself and your current abilities.
It is not about what you have done in the past. It is about now. So I sincerely believe in him.
Darnold entered the NFL as the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, but he failed to establish himself as a long-term answer at the position
during stints with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers before joining the San Francisco 49ers in March 2023.
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