Overview

• Minnesota officially designated second-year J.J. McCarthy, who has no regular-season experience and returned from a torn meniscus, as the 2025 Week 1 starter.
• GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell passed on veteran options like Aaron Rodgers to capitalize on McCarthy’s rookie-scale contract.
• Analysts including Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox warn that sky-high expectations and McCarthy’s inexperience could make him the biggest bust of the season.
• With only Sam Howell and Brett Rypien behind McCarthy on the depth chart, the Vikings are exploring a trade for Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson.
• Richardson’s shoulder injury and Daniel Jones’s strong preseason form in Indianapolis have fueled talk that Minnesota could buy low on the former first-round pick.