Just rewind a bit and think about the Vikings’ 2024 season. Kevin O’Connell‘s Minnesota Vikings had a great 14-3 season last year. They were closer to winning further in the postseason. All things were set for the 2025 Super Bowl run, but now they have built the team from the base- the quarterback position. Some people suggest, the single-most position in football!

After ditching Sam Darnold, the Vikings seem confused about choosing QB talents, or maybe they are waiting for the draft. Meanwhile, reports suggest J.J. McCarthy has led the Vikings to find a new QB2. What’s the issue? Wanna know what Albert Breer has said on the issue? Let’s dive in! 

The Sports Illustrated reporter, Albert Breer, conversed with Rich Eisen on the latter’s show. When Rich Eisen asked him ‘what’s happening in the Vikings right now?’, Breer started, “I have talked a lot about where J.J. McCarthy is at. [He has] lost some weight during the rehab and went through the two surgeries. The second surgery was more of a cleanup, lost four months of on-field development time. They got a 14-win team that’s not a rebuild.”

The last sentence said it all. But what we talking about here is not how the team build-up has messed up, but who messed things up. And that’s what the insider said while talking further about the conundrum.

Breer said, “All the guys there are trying to give a roster, that’s in position to win right now the best possible situation they can at quarterback. And in doing that, they made an offer to Sam Darnell to stay. They made an offer to Daniel Jones that was competitive with the offer that he got from the Colts to stay. In both those cases, I think the presence of J.J. McCarthy pushed the players out.”

The Seattle Seahawks have picked Sam Darnold up. And as the reporter said, Daniel Jones also took a flight to Indianapolis to join the Colts. Interesting switches all around!

Reports suggest that J.J. McCarthy is the Vikings starting QB option. The will to grab the spot has messed up everything. Per reports, Kevin O’Connell is now looking for a backup QB as Daniel Jones has moved on. But here is the problem for McCarthy. What if Aaron Rodgers landed in Minnesota? Will J.J. McCarthy get the starting QB job? Well, the story of free agency continues to unfold as time passes.

Meanwhile, with this drama going on, the Vikings have announced the signing of one of the exceptional cornerbacks in the league, Jeff Okudah. Wanna know what the deal is? And what’s the point of signing him to the city of Minnesota? Let’s dive in! 

Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings signed Jeff Okudah

If you were loitering around social media a few hours ago, you would have definitely witnessed not one but multiple posts discussing Jeff Okudah. The former Houston Texans cornerback has agreed to terms with the Vikings and signed a one-year deal. Obviously, the contract details are not revealed yet, but it can be around his previous deal. 

When he was a free agent for one year with the Houston Texans, he had signed a staggering $4,750,000 deal. And even before that, the 2020 NFL draft pick was with the Detroit Lions during his first three years in the NFL before landing in Atlanta. And what’s the big deal in signing him? Well, if we underestimate this football beast, we are probably making mistakes. 

Though he didn’t fetch big contracts, he can help the team in crucial times, being a veteran, to a great extent. If we look at his stats throughout his five years of career in the big leagues, he has played only 44 games. And even with that, he has managed to make 177 total tackles out of which a whopping 145 are solo tackles along with 32 assists.

Now, this guy’s underrated. When we talk about efficiency in the NFL, he ticks all the right boxes.

So, the deal is worth it. Sometimes underestimated players show up their A-game when needed. Let’s see if Kevin O’Connell’s latest pick could turn into a great deal.