At the end of the Vikings’ offseason program, head coach Kevin O’Connell said that Sam Darnold would be the No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart when the team got to training camp and it doesn’t sound like that’s going to change in the near future.
Vikings players began reporting to camp on Monday and O’Connell offered an update on the plan for the team’s quarterbacks. O’Connell said at a press conference that Darnold will get the “majority” of the first-team reps once the team starts practicing.
First-round pick J.J. McCarthy will also get first-team work and O’Connell said he wants a “really competitive situation,” but the nature of the split will mean that Darnold will be on the inside track to start against the Giants in Week One.
The Vikings have their bye after a Week Five matchup with the Jets in London and any season-opening decision at quarterback could be revisited at that point because of the extra time a new quarterback would have to prepare.