Sounds Like Vikings Players Wanted Sam Darnold

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Aaron Jones, JJ McCarthy - Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

There have been a lot of people second-guessing the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 offseason, specifically the decisions they made at quarterback. Much of the criticism is fair, some isn’t.

But in the end, it cost Kwesi Adofo-Mensah his job as Vikings general manager. Since his firing, there have been a never-ending number of questions, rumors and reports circulating over how Kwesi was perceived by his colleagues, both in and outside the organization.

What we haven’t heard anything about yet, however, is how the players felt the last two offseason, standing by as innocent bystanders while Kwesi — along with head coach Kevin O’Connell and other higher ups — were making QB mistakes that would eventually sink their hopes of success in 2025?

MN Vikings players wanted to run it back with Sam Darnold

Thursday afternoon, on Super Bowl media row in San Francisco, Vikings running back Aaron Jones sat down at the “Nightcap” booth with former players turned media personalities, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson.

There, he gave the outside world some insight into what many MN Vikings players were likely hoping for at the quarterback position, entering last offseason.

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t JJ McCarthy.

Sharpe: “How different do you feel believe your season would have been if [Sam Darnold] was still in your locker room?”

Jones: “Last year, we only lost to two teams, the Rams and two to the Lions. [Coming back in 2025] I felt like we had everything we needed, but we are not GM’s, that’s outside of us. When you got a group of guys behind a quarterback, and he wants to stay somewhere, I think you should try to make it work.”

Nightcap Show

Like many Vikings team leaders, Aaron Jones has done everything in his power to shield JJ McCarthy from unneeded criticism much of the season. He’s also taken every opportunity to gush about his young teammate.

When McCarthy walked into the huddle week one and gave the “is there anywhere else you’d rather be” speech, it was Aaron Jones who sang about it to media immediately after the game.

Aaron Jones pulls back locker room curtain for fans and media

Even earlier this week on media row, the 31-year-old veteran has done other interviews where he has shown the utmost optimism for JJ’s future.

One day later, though, Jones pulled back the curtain and allowed fans/media to see into what at least some of the leaders in Minnesota’s locker room were hoping to see happen last offseason.

And clearly, they wanted to get the 2024 band back together to see if Sam Darnold could lead them on a deeper playoff runs his second time around. Unfortunately for all of us, that’s now how reality played out.

Remember, we know the Wilfs talked to players, coaches and executives throughout the organization, before dismissing Kwesi last week. Is it possible they heard a much more in-depth version of what Jones told Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on Thursday? Given how the offseason has unfolded so far, that wouldn’t surprise me.

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