As the Minnesota Vikings prepared for their Week 13 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, it's obviously difficult for one not to wonder what things would look like in Minneapolis this year had the Vikes opted to bring back Sam Darnold on the franchise tag instead of handing the reins to young J.J. McCarthy.
Darnold, of course, signed a one-year, $10 million deal in the early days of 2024 free agency and was set to be a placeholder until whichever quarterback Minnesota selected in the draft, which obviously turned out to be McCarthy, was ready to take over.