Egan of Minnesota - The Vikings bid farewell to the three-pointer who spent some time on the roster last season, including a veteran Sam Darnold - who threw 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. They were given a chance to sign for future Hall of Fame member Aaron Rodgers, whom Aaron Rodgers expressed interest in playing for them in 2025.

Why? They are preparing to hand over the position to JJ McCarthy, the 10th pick in the 2024 draft, with his right knee curved noodles recovering. McCarthy spoke to local journalists for the first time Tuesday since last fall, with his confidence in himself as the team.

McCarthy said: “I know I’m ready to start.

The Vikings cleared McCarthy this spring to fully participate in their offseason plan, which began last week. He said Tuesday he recovered about 25 to 30 pounds during his recovery and now weighs 215 pounds after falling to "high 180s" in the winter.

Later last season, as the Vikings stood on the sidelines during the Vikings game, some fans and observers were shocked by the broadcast images of his weight loss. But on Tuesday, McCarthy confirmed that ESPN reported that it was the result of no action in the early stages of recovery. Additionally, once he starts to speed up his activity, his swelling requires a second surgery, PRP shooting to resolve inflammation and additional downtime.

"(Weight loss) is just a combination of not moving at all, not exercising," he said. "I'm a guy who needs exercise to lose weight. … It's amazing how fast it peaks and how fast the valley is, but I feel like I'm in a very comfortable place and (Will) just maintaining it from here."

McCarthy made steady progress in a brief training camp last summer before being injured during the team’s preseason opener. At the time, Darnold was the most likely first week starter for the Vikings, but McCarthy was still winning the starting job if McCarthy had the chance to continue to make progress.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell stopped the starter who named McCarthy, although none of the other three quarterbacks in the roster - newly acquired Sam Howell, Holdover Brett Rypien and rookie Max Brosmer - are expected to present serious challenges to the job. General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said eventually named McCarthy "the result we want" and "the result we want to move forward", which McCarthy described Tuesday as "a competition with myself."

"I have to win (this job) every day," he said. "It's a competition with myself, obviously just taking your best job, my best job, but looking in the mirror every night, (say), 'Will I get better?' And if I keep this inadequate aspect in this and just really focus on being the best version of myself, that's really my goal, and that's where I'm going."