To no one’s surprise, the Vikings’ quarterback situation has come up a few times as Justin Jefferson has made his Super Bowl week media rounds down in New Orleans. And to no one’s surprise, Minnesota’s superstar has played both sides, expressing that he’ll do his thing on the field no matter who’s throwing him the ball next season.

In one interview with Yahoo! Sports, Jefferson said he thinks J.J. McCarthy will get his shot, then followed that up by saying he thinks they’ll bring Sam Darnold back. Those two ideas are, of course, a bit contradictory.

“J.J., I feel like he’s definitely gonna get his shot and get his opportunity to do something and see where it goes,” Jefferson said. “Just seeing how he was performing before he got injured, it was definitely looking pretty good. You have to give your first-round pick an opportunity. That’s a must. And that goes with practice, training camp, OTAs, that position battle is gonna happen, regardless.

“But having Sam being in there the whole season this past year, having 14 wins, bringing us to the playoffs, that just doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t just get a quarterback off the couch and he can come and win 14 games for you. So you definitely have to keep that in the back of your mind, also. I feel like we’re gonna bring Sam back. I’m not sure, though, so don’t take my word for it. But I think it would be good to have him back and to build and see where it goes. But I definitely think J.J. is gonna have his opportunity. I don’t know.”

That’s a truly professional answer from a guy who has been in the NFL for five years now and just went through a different quarterback discussion last offseason. He knows there’d be no benefit to publicly committing one way or another, considering that the decision is out of his hands.

Subscribe to our free YouTube channel for fresh Vikings content
In another interview, this one with NBC Sports, Jefferson echoed the sentiment he expressed after this season ended (and after last season ended), which is that he’s confident in his ability to thrive regardless of who is playing quarterback.

“It’s funny because we’re pretty much (having) the same conversations as last year,” Jefferson said. “And honestly, I have the same answer. It doesn’t really matter who’s gonna be throwing me the ball. I’m still gonna go out there and perform and still try to be my best, regardless of who’s throwing the ball, if I’m double covered. I’m gonna make the most of my opportunities.”

His track record backs that up, too. Jefferson put up huge numbers with Kirk Cousins for years, had some massive games with Nick Mullens at QB late in the 2023 season, and then had a 1,500-yard campaign with Darnold last year. The chemistry is obviously there with Darnold, but there’s no reason to doubt that Jefferson would continue to dominate if McCarthy gets the nod in 2025.