Justin Jefferson says Vikings would have been better with Sam Darnold at QB [View all]

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson believes this season would have been very different if Sam Darnold had been the quarterback. The Vikings finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs. On Friday, the Vikings fired former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

“Everyone knows the difficulty of the quarterback position this year, how we were dealt it,” Jefferson told USA Today's Prince Grimes. “But having a quarterback that already had a season under his belt with us, knew the plays, knew the playbook, knew the players, throwing to me, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, all these guys, I definitely feel like we would have done better. But it is what it is, it’s on to newer and better things. But I’m definitely happy and proud of him that he is able to reach it this year.”

In 2024, Darnold finished with career highs of 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. Darnold helped lead the Vikings to a 14-3 season before their wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

After the season, Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks for three years and $100.5 million, and Vikings backup quarterback Daniel Jones signed a one-year $14 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings decided to go into the season with J.J. McCarthy, whom the team traded up for and drafted with the No. 10 overall pick in 2024 and was recovering from a torn meniscus that cost him his rookie season.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/justin-jefferson-says-vikings-would-have-been-better-with-sam-darnold-at-qb-013909358.html