(Photo credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell speaks glowingly of 2024 first-round pick JJ McCarthy and refused to hide the pride he feels recalling Sam Darnold's first year in Minnesota's offensive system.

Darnold, signed to a one-year, $10 million deal to replace Kirk Cousins almost a year ago, can become a free agent once more after winning 14 games and leading the Vikings to the playoffs.

McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in last year's draft, spent the season recovering from knee surgery and is set to participate fully in the offseason program, O'Connell said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

In what capacity either quarterback enters the 2025 season remains to be determined.

'I've had great dialogue with Sam from the end of the season to very, very recently,' O'Connell said Tuesday afternoon at the NFL Scouting Combine.

'This process is going to play out both short-term and long-term for the Minnesota Vikings. And Sam is in a position where the NFL thinks he can play quarterback at a high level. That's a really good thing, and I feel very proud to be a part of helping him get to this point. We'll see where it goes from here.'

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah knows quarterback is again the 'core of our offseason.' He said the Vikings want to be mindful of a holistic approach to evaluating Darnold, 27, through the prism of what he accomplished in his debut season with the franchise. The media and fan focus has centered largely on the final two games, losses to the Detroit Lions and the wild-card defeat against the Los Angeles Rams.

'Not trying to be overweighted by those eight quarters but also not underweighting those last two games,' Adofo-Mensah said. 'He played a lot of good football for us in Year 1 of the system, so you can expect more later. We're excited (for) the potential for Sam, whatever that ends up being. It's a tough exercise.'

McCarthy's development took place off-camera but his presence and the investment made by the franchise stands as some tender of leverage should the Vikings attempt to play it in talks with Darnold and other quarterbacks. When the Vikings lost Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons in March 2024, there wasn't much of an insurance policy in place. The Vikings also have close tabs on former first-round pick Daniel Jones. He ended the season getting up to speed with Minnesota's system and style of coaching quarterbacks after being released by the Giants in November.

O'Connell made clear he felt Darnold's 35-TD season with more than 4,300 passing yards proved he's capable of QB1 status -- somewhere.

McCarthy used VR training to prepare for every game, mostly off the grass, in a facsimile of practices, offensive meetings, position meetings and the closely-held 'red marker meeting' one-on-one with O'Connell. It's a test of the game plan, plays and situations the former NFL quarterback-turned-coach uses to pare down his play-call sheet the day before every game.

'He went through the process that simulated what Darnold was going through,' O'Connell said.

Adofo-Mensah said Vikings ownership has a level of involvement in the pending QB decision to some extent, but 'does a great job of letting us do our jobs.'

'It's a business, and so our job is to present our logic to owners,' he said.

--Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media