Not much will be decided during the 2024 Vikings season, other than whether …
Souhan: Wilfs’ patience, QB quandary at heart of Vikings’ future
With any new season comes new challenges — and the Vikings have numerous questions that need to be answered, for this year and beyond
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 8, 2024 at 11:00AM
- Sam Darnold, who will start the season as the Vikings starting quarterback, has an NFL career in his future.
He has never played with a receiver like Justin Jefferson or for a group of passing-game gurus. If he succeeds, he could be starting somewhere else next year. If he fails, he might not be able to get a job as a backup.
- Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell keep their jobs long term.
Both will have one year remaining on their contracts at the end of this season, and both will want extensions. One caution in terms of assessing their futures: Having a bad season won’t necessarily mean they’ll be fired. The promise of J.J. McCarthy means that they have to get to the end of this season with the Wilfs feeling good about the future. That might be enough for them to earn new deals.
- Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores forces NFL teams to give him a fair chance at a head coaching job.
If Flores’ defense can be a force this year, his work with the Vikings, combined with his ability to win games with a Dolphins franchise that was dysfunctional during his head coaching tenure, might persuade at least one owner to ignore Flores’ suit against the league and give him another shot.
- The Wilfs are truly as patient as they appear.
This will be their 20th season as owners. They are 3-7 in the playoffs. They have lost in two different, excruciating ways in NFC title games. They have won one division title in the last six years, in a four-team division. The Wilfs have developed into stable and financially aggressive owners. Will another losing season test their patience, and could that affect their decisionmaking?
- Justin Jefferson is as patient as he appears.
He signed a massive contract, and now will be playing without a proven franchise quarterback, and may have his ability to set NFL records resting on the recovery and progression of McCarthy. Jefferson hasn’t indicated that he is the kind of athlete to cause problems if his team disappoints, but there is always a chance that he will someday behave like a member of the Wide Receiver Guild.
- Running back Aaron Jones can extend his career.
He has an ideal skill set for the Vikings’ offense, as well as leadership characteristics. Can he play well enough and stay healthy enough to be in the backfield next season when McCarthy will need his help?
- Cornerback Stephon Gilmore can land the big contract he wants. He’s signed for just one year, so the Vikings have to hope he’ll play well enough to be wanted, and like playing in Minnesota enough to be willing to re-sign.
- Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown becomes the NFL’s next quarterback whisperer. He’s close with Darnold. If he can help Darnold fulfill his promise, McCown will be an offensive coordinator soon.
- Adofo-Mensah’s many moves worked. He allowed Danielle Hunter to leave in free agency, and replaced him with two free agents — Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel — and a first-round draft pick, Dallas Turner.
He signed Jones, a wonderful player who is also a 29-year-old running back coming off an injury-filled season. He brought in two new quarterbacks — Darnold and Brett Rypien.
If Adofo-Mensah’s moves help the Vikings overachieve, he could move past the disappointment of his first draft.
- Harrison Smith is really ready to retire. The star safety sounded like he was done at the end of last season, then decided to play one more year. Will the promise of a 2025 season with McCarthy under center be enough for him to play one more year?
- Jordan Addison is mature and durable enough to be a reliable performer. He may be in line for a suspension after his DUI arrest this summer, and in the last three games of his rookie year he caught eight of 17 targets for 87 yards.
Every NFL season is filled with moving parts. A lot of the Vikings’ moving parts need to prove they’re moving in the right direction.
Former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins left Minnesota for a long-term contract with the Falcons. On Tuesday, he was benched for rookie Michael Penix Jr., creating all sorts of short- and long-term questions.
