EAGAN, Minn. -- The breeze is starting to cool off around the Twin Cities, just as the murmurs of expectation around another Minnesota Vikings season begin to heat up. Except no one ever quite knows what to anticipate in these parts. There is always cautious optimism. Or underlying fear. And last season is a prime reason why.

Only here, in swaths of purple, can 14 wins feel so cold. Sam Darnold was a revelation -- the hottest example of coach Kevin O'Connell's quarterback whispering -- until it actually mattered. And now he's an increasingly distant memory, just like Kirk Cousins before him, as the Vikings hope the new guy finally shows "it."

The new guy, of course, is J.J. McCarthy . The 22-year-old second-year Michigan product best known in NFL circles for his unintentional r

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