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Christy Pierce-Rampone here, former member of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, three-time gold medalist, and two-time World Cup champion. I'm mom to two teenage girls and a dog mom too. All four of them need lots of stuff and we always need it fast, and that's why we use Amazon Prime. When our favorite leash broke, I went right to Prime and with one click, I ordered it again. Not to mention all the great streaming shows I watch with family. From streaming to shopping, it's on Prime. Visit amazon.com slash prime to get more out of whatever you're into.
Whatever you're into, it's on Prime. How are you? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on.
I appreciate the time. We know that J.J. McCarthy, he's complained to knee soreness over the weekend following that preseason game. Any surprise that there was a tear in there? Was there anything else? Any inklings earlier on in the offseason that there were any issues?
No, not at all. So much so, this was such a surprise that when the coaches went back and re-watched the game from Saturday, they couldn't find out when it happened. And J.J. doesn't know when it happened because he told them he doesn't know. So these are the types of injuries that can really sneak up on you.
Vikings players have done this before where they've played full games and then just woke up the next morning with a swollen knee and had to get the MRI and found out, oh, torn meniscus. So this could either be a situation where J.J. gets, he'll undergo surgery, but it's up to him and the doctors of whether or not he will get the trim or the full repair. That will determine his timeline of how long he's going to be out. It could be four to six weeks.
It could be four to six months and be season ending, depending on the severity of it. So they won't know until they go in there. And then, yeah, it was a surprise because he finished the game or finished what they wanted him to do on Saturday. And the head coach said he could have kept playing.
He felt that good. Andrew Cramer's joining us from the Star Tribune. Well, I mean, Sam Darnold, he got himself an expensive contract, a one year deal, 10 million dollars. I mean, there was an expectation that he would at least maybe start the season. I mean, that's a lot of money for a backup.
So how does that change things, if at all? Yeah, I think it only changes their development plan with J.J., because as you said, they paid Sam Darnold to start. They brought him in as a placeholder. They wanted to keep Kirk Cousins. They entered deep contract negotiations to keep Kirk Cousins. But obviously Atlanta outbid them and took him away. And so they turned to Sam Darnold to come in and be that veteran who could be the one year bridge to whoever they drafted.
And so the whole plan was to start Sam Darnold week one and then see how far he could take this season. And they wanted to give J.J. that kind of buffer to get ready. They're in the same division where they watched Jordan Love grow and develop for years and then have the benefit of waiting and then then getting out there when he was ready.
And Kevin O'Connell, the head coach of the Vikings, he's a former quarterback. He's very sensitive to organizations ruining prospects by putting them out there before they're too ready or before they have the right support system or talent around them. And so they had a really slow plan with J.J. And so I don't think it changes a whole lot for 2024, but it does sidetrack their progress they wanted to make in practice with them where they wanted him to continue getting these reps and continue working. They were having joint practices this week in Cleveland against the Browns.
He was supposed to be a big part of that, and obviously he's not. So this more changes and sets back kind of the growth they wanted for him behind the scenes. And as far as Sam Darnold, this is just going to be even more work for him in practice and them leaning even more into him being the guy this year. Well, how have they looked individually? We've seen a little bit more over the years of Sam Darnold, the good, mostly the bad. And in the case of J.J. McCarthy coming out of Michigan, you know, he's being asked, we're doing a little bit more.
How have they looked so far, let's just say between now and April? Yeah, and if you look at the preseason game on Saturday, it was actually a microcosm of how these two guys have looked in camp. J.J. threw an interception very early in that game that was very much a rookie mistake.
It was a very obvious throw that he should not have made. And then he bounced back and threw two touchdowns and led scoring drives and really had that confidence that they've loved so much in seeing him since he came to Minnesota. But Sam Darnold has been the more consistent level quarterback, has flashed an arm talent that frankly I haven't seen in a Vikings quarterback since Sam Bradford in 2016.
And those who know ball know that both those guys can really swing the football. And that's why he's taken third overall in Sam Darnold. And so they bring him in, they want to try to give him the best support system he's had. He's had really bad teams from Carolina to the New York Jets.
The times he's had to get out there and play, it's been not with great pieces or great coaching. And so they feel like they can kind of resurrect his career a little bit. And Sam Darnold watched Baker Mayfield do that in Tampa Bay.
He watched Geno Smith do that in Seattle. He very much believes he can do that in Minnesota and the Vikings believe in him as well. And he's been consistent, you ask how he looks, he's been consistent in camp. The big question of course is once the games start coming week after week, can he maintain that consistency that we've yet to see from him in the NFL. Andrew Kramer is joining us from the Star Tribune.
You talk about the supporting cast. We know Justin Jefferson just got his $35 million per. Is it going to take long? Is he just going to relax if things are going sideways? Are we going to hear from him or is he going to be content with just making his money right now? That's a great question because this guy knows and loves to win. He only knows how to win.
At LSU, whether it's high school or LSU, this kid won at every level he was at. And no, I don't think he's going to be content with money. He was very much involved not in terms of helping them make the decisions this offseason, but in terms of wanting to know what the team was doing at quarterback. He wanted to know how negotiations were going with Kirk. He wanted to know who they were going to draft, who they were leaning toward. He's very interested in all of this, but also he's very confident because he's a guy who racked up 100-yard games after 100-yard games with Nick Mullins last year for three or four games. Jaron Hall had to start games as a rookie for the Vikings last year. Justin can produce regardless, but in a team game, it doesn't mean you necessarily win, especially if the quarterback is making mistakes.
So I think this is going to be something to monitor. Justin loves the organization. He loves the head coach. He loves everything that's set up around him, but he also hates losing.
So if this goes sideways, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. We saw Jordan Addison have an amazing rookie year. We know this past offseason he's had his issues behind the wheel of a car and DUIs and misdemeanors and what have you. What's his current status? Is there any worry that he may not be an available target for Sam Darnold?
There is, yeah. There's concern he could be suspended for three games because that's the NFL substance abuse policy for guys who are first-time offenders, criminal first-time offenders under their alcohol policy. So that's something the team is very aware of. They've been bringing in wide receivers to work them out, free agents. They've been trying to get some of their younger guys, like Jalen Naylor is a big one that they've been trying to prepare for a bigger role in the event that Jordan is suspended. But when Jordan is available, he is going to be a massive part, as you said, huge rookie year.
He is the real deal. And when he is available, they're going to put up with a lot with the kid because he is a very talented athlete and generally a very smart football player. So I think he'll be a big part once he's there, but I do think they're concerned about that three-game suspension to start the year. Well, Andrew, we know the offense is going to be a work in progress with Sam Darnold leading the way.
You mentioned Addison, Aaron Jones are now here as well. What about the defense? I would say the defense kept them in games last year, had some issues as well. There's some new faces that are part of the team. They drafted Dallas Turner. They're bringing in a Grinnard from Houston. What are you expecting that defense to look like? And are there areas that they can do better, maybe the secondary?
Yeah, that's one area. Brian Flores is one of the best defensive coaches, best defensive minds in football. And what he did last year with the roster they had, it impressed a lot of people. And a lot of people in Minnesota were surprised he got no head coaching requests this offseason.
Not that he didn't get a job, but nobody even wanted to interview him. Now he's also suing the NFL for racial discrimination in their hiring practices, so that might play a factor, but to get back to football, the Vikings love this guy. They love what he can do with their defense. They love that if they add pieces like Dallas Turner, Grinnard you mentioned, Andrew VanGinkle from Miami was a Flores guy when he was in Miami.
He's going to be a starter opposite Grinnard as Dallas Turner kind of develops. They've really added some pieces here that they feel are going to make Flores even better and even more effective of a tactician. So I think they've got good weapons up front in the defense. The question is, they unfortunately lost one of their rookie draft picks that corner in Kyrie Jackson who died in a car accident in July. They lost another starting corner, Makai Blackman to a torn ACL at the start of camp. So they're bringing in Stephon Gilmore, hosting him as a free agent yesterday.
They're just searching for pieces. They've added actually four different free agent corners since camp started, just trying to cycle through guys. So if you can't cover Amman Ross St. Brown, you can't cover Keenan Allen and Romo Dunzay, I think it could be a long year, even with Brian Flores.
So it will be interesting to see. But as you mentioned with this offense, this Vikings team is capable of putting up 20-30 on a given night. So I think they might have to win some shootouts this year.
Andrew Cramish joining us from the Star Tribune. You talk about some of the opposition in the NFC North. In regards to the entire division, what's the expectation from Viking fans? We all know this is a transition season, but at the end of the day, people will look at the wins and losses and I would think the performance of Sam Donald, maybe we see JJ McCarthy. Is this people just going with the flow this season? What's the expectation?
It has to be some type of one, right? Yeah, I think the expectation was to see what Kevin O'Connell and his coaching staff can do with this quarterback transition. So everybody wants to see is Kevin O'Connell this offensive Sean McVeigh style mastermind that's going to be able to do it with anybody? I think that's what everybody wants to see. And honestly, the wind was taken out of the sails in Minnesota when JJ McCarthy goes down. Everybody's pretty bummed out about that. They had a night practice yesterday right after the news came out.
The fans in the stands were just kind of, yeah, it's just the air was just out of the sails. So the year was was all about seeing kind of how JJ could do in the preseason and then maybe later in the year. And now it feels like everyone's just turning to Sam Darnold and saying, all right, man, it's all on you because I don't think they're going to be trotting JJ out there in October.
Certainly not without the rest of the preseason. And so if they if this is a team that wins six games, everybody shrugs their shoulders and goes, all right, we'll see what JJ can do between now and, you know, October, September 2025. Yeah, well, and this is a big year, actually, for the ownership to decide on their GM and head coach. These guys are on four year contracts. They're entering year three of that. And so are you going to let them go into a lame duck year saying, all right, prove it? Or are you going to sign into a one year extension just to make them feel a little bit better about going into 2025?
Yeah. If it goes sideways this year, it is going to be very interesting to see what the WILF ownership group, the family that owns this team, what they decide to do with with the leadership, especially at GM, where their drafts have not been as good under Kwasi Adolfo Mensah. And obviously, you know, with JJ McCarthy, that's not his fault, getting hurt. But they've got some questions about their leadership and the long term outlook. And it would soothe any kind of concerns if they could at least look competitive. Because, as you mentioned, this division, the NFC North might be one of the toughest in football this year.
Is their fan angst against Kwasi that he would get the boot? I mean, typically you would get, you know, you'd get a quarterback of your own. You'd get a little bit of time with your own QB.
Unfortunately, he has a torn meniscus right now. Yeah, they just traded their first second round pick he made under when he was here in Andrew Booth Jr. to Dallas. Their first pick, Lewis, seeing that the first round pick in 2022 is probably going to get cut out of camp, if not traded. They might cut their third round pick from that year, too.
Brian Osamuah. Last year's draft, they got Jordan Addison, but not a whole lot else from there. And then this year was all about JJ, obviously, and Dallas Turner.
Those two are great. So, yeah, they're going to have at least a runway with this team. It's just a matter of, do they put them in a lame duck year in 2025 with that expiring contract for the GM?
Or do they see enough this year to sign them to an extension? That's going to be the big thing. I think he's going to need mid-round picks, free agent additions. The GM is going to need guys to step up. And Kwasi has a lot of fans in the building.
He does. But, you know, the NFL is obviously a very impatient world. So we'll see what ends up with that. Well, listen, the Minnesota Vikings have been looking for a runway back to the Super Bowl in the past forever. And so we'll see what happens over the next several. Hey, Andrew, you're not supposed to laugh at that one.
You don't laugh. I'm just saying. We've been a long time.
What are we? The 70s, right? The 70s?
76, yep. Oh, my God. OK. It's been a while. You're absolutely right. The fans are very anxious for it. And we actually spoke to Mark Wilf, one of the co-owners of the team, not too long ago. They have owned the team now for 15 years, I believe.
Yeah. And so almost 20 years, actually. And so they have not had a Super Bowl for 20 years. They are feeling it. And so they're generally patient. They like to model themselves after patient owners of the NFL, like the Rooney's in Pittsburgh. But teams also becoming owners become impatient if you can't do it. So we'll see. Maybe if we rebuild the the Metrodome and maybe it'll be a little bit more success.
I doubt it, though, but we'll see. Andrew, thank you so much for taking the time. I'm sure we'll be chatting with you real soon in the future, hopefully with some good news surrounding JJ. Where can people follow you and your work with the Star Tribune? Absolutely. Follow me on Twitter at Andrew Underscore Kramer.
That's K-R-A-M-M-E-R. And then you can find my work at StarTribune dot com. Thank you so much for the great insight. Great chat, Andrew. Thank you, man.
Thanks for having me on. Listen, as Selenia tells us why she chose to vaccinate her daughter. I definitely felt like the pros far outweighed the cons, the diseases that I am protecting my child against. They're still here. And at the end of the day, it's my job as a mother to keep my child safe.
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