Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson believes this season would have been very different if Sam Darnold had been the quarterback. The Vikings finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs. On Friday, the Vikings fired former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

“Everyone knows the difficulty of the quarterback position this year, how we were dealt it,” Jefferson told USA Today's Prince Grimes. “But having a quarterback that already had a season under his belt with us, knew the plays, knew the playbook, knew the players, throwing to me, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, all these guys, I definitely feel like we would have done better. But it is what it is, it’s on to newer and better things. But I’m definitely happy and proud of him that he is able to reach it this year.”

In 2024, Darnold finished with career highs of 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. Darnold helped lead the Vikings to a 14-3 season before their wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

After the season, Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks for three years and $ 100.5 million, and Vikings backup quarterback Daniel Jones signed a one-year $ 14 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings decided to go into the season with J.J. McCarthy, whom the team traded up for and drafted with the No. 10 overall pick in 2024 and was recovering from a torn meniscus that cost him his rookie season.

McCarthy missed time this season with a hand injury, an ankle sprain and a concussion. In his absence, the Vikings started Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer at different points in the season. McCarthy finished his second year throwing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Jefferson struggled with the instability at the quarterback position last season. Jefferson finished with 84 catches and career lows of 1,048 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Darnold at quarterback in 2024, Jefferson caught 103 passes for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In his first year with the Seahawks, Sam Darnold threw for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Despite leading the NFL in turnovers this season, Darnold saved his best performance for last, throwing for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns with no turnovers and helping Seattle advance to its first Super Bowl since 2015. Jones led the Colts to an 8-3 start before tearing his Achilles in Week 13.

Despite Jefferson being happy for Darnold, he is left thinking about what could have been.

“It’s definitely tough. It’s tough to watch,” Jefferson said. “I love that he’s in the Super Bowl. I’m happy for him, I want nothing but the best for him, especially the way his journey was at first, people doubting him and people not giving him the respect. Now they’re giving him the respect. Now they’re seeing that he’s a top-tier quarterback in this league. Of course, selfishly, I wish he had done that for us last year, but to see him blossom and bounce back right after last year and make it this year, I’m happy for him and I hope he wins. I’m rooting for Seattle, and I think Seattle’s gonna win. I’ll be rooting for him.”