McCarthy was the No. 10 overall pick in April’s draft after leading Michigan to the national championship. He is expected to compete with veteran Sam Darnold for the starting job, though coach Kevin O’Connell has said the Vikings will not rush McCarthy into action before he’s ready. Before McCarthy assumes the starting job, O’Connell told ESPN the 21-year-old must demonstrate “the comfort level that he has within our offense and his ability to then translate it to adverse situations and difficult aspects of playing quarterback in the NFL aren’t magnified by inexperience” before he takes the reins. “But I want to be very clear that the expectation is for this player to not be perfect,” O’Connell said. “He’s going to have growing pains, he’s going to learn on the fly. I’m not trying to remove that aspect of it, either, but [deciding when he will play] is not something you can write up on a board. It’s a feeling.”

The Vikings are replacing veteran Kirk Cousins, who signed as a free agent in the offseason with the Atlanta Falcons. He had a 50-37-1 record as the Minnesota starter the past six seasons. Minnesota opens the 2024 season on Sept. 8 against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.