1. The arms after McCarthy
Each of Minnesota's four quarterbacks is on a different journey.
McCarthy is "fired up," he said, for Saturday. It will be his first live performance since the promise of a pair of pretty touchdowns was delayed by swelling in his knee and resulted in season-ending surgery.
The 22-year-old's return is reason No. 1 to watch Saturday. But as the unquestioned starter now, there's curiosity in the arms after him on the unofficial depth chart: Sam Howell, Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer.
Minnesota executed a trade for Howell, 24, with Seattle on the third day of the 2025 NFL Draft. In three seasons, including one as Washington's starter in 2023, he has clipped 62.6 percent of his attempts for 4,139 yards, 22 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He's also rushed 54 times for 300 yards and six scores.
Howell's grip on the offense might not be as far along, yet, as the two quarterbacks in the Vikings system last season (McCarthy and Rypien). This week, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell disclosed that what Howell has experienced in the past, from a schematic standpoint, is "really nothing close to what we run here.
"That's not taking away from anybody else's offense," O'Connell added. "Just different verbiage, different variations of how we want to try to move the football and what we ask the quarterback to do, and how we coach the position. So, in many ways, there's a lot of things that are just flat out new for Sam."