Sam Darnold will start Saturday against Raiders, J.J. McCarthy to follow

Vikings to start Sam Darnold in preseason opener

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Sam Darnold will start in the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, and J.J. McCarthy will see significant time.

EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said at training camp Thursday that "we are planning to play a majority of our guys" in Saturday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium.

That includes quarterback Sam Darnold, who will get the start. O’Connell said first round draft pick J.J. McCarthy will play after Darnold "for a significant amount of work." Jaren Hall will likely finish, and Nick Mullens will be available, but may not play.

"As far as Sam, it’d be great for him to go through the opportunity of preparing for the game and what takes place between now and then, getting a dry run with that," O’Connell said.

Why it matters

This deviates from O’Connell’s previous preseason plans as Vikings’ head coach. When Kirk Cousins was the starting quarterback, he didn’t play a single snap in the preseason. In fact, a majority of starters in O'Connell's first two seasons didn't play in the preseason at all. Darnold came to the Vikings on one-year, $10 million contract after Cousins departed for Atlanta in free agency. Darnold has gotten a majority of the plays with the first-team offense in training camp. They clearly want to play him a game-like scenario before Week 1 at the New York Giants.

O’Connell did not specify how long Darnold will play, saying it would go based off feel.

The Vikings moved up to the No. 10 spot in the NFL Draft to grab McCarthy, and he’s started to get reps with the first-team in the last week. He said Wednesday he was eager to go against "a vanilla defense." It will be McCarthy’s first plays against a defense other than the Vikings.

"I think it’s just a really good way of seeing exactly where you’re at," O’Connell said.

Justin Jefferson, Harrison Smith likely won’t play

O’Connell said star receiver Justin Jefferson more than likely will not play. He recently got a veteran rest day in training camp, missed Tuesday’s practice for personal reasons and was back full-go on Wednesday. Veteran safety Harrison Smith more than likely will not play.

"Nothing is more important than what we’re preparing our team for, which is Week 1 of the NFL regular season," O’Connell said.

Dallas Turner on preseason debut: 'I'm blessed'

Vikings rookie Dallas Turner talked after training camp practice Thursday about making his preseason debut on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Dallas Turner: ‘I’m itching bad (to hit a QB)'

Vikings' edge rusher Dallas Turner is one of several rookies who will make their debut on Saturday. Minnesota moved up in the draft to get Turner out of Alabama, who was one of the top defensive players in the draft, had 10 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss for the Crimson Tide last season. Up to this point, he's not allowed to hit or tackle anyone in practice. A simple touch ends the play.

"We can't touch the quarterback," Turner said after Thursday's practice. "I'm itching, I'm itching bad."

The Vikings and Raiders kick off at 3 p.m. Saturday on FOX 9.

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