EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are confident in their quarterbacks room while also doing their offseason due diligence.

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah thanked his staff for helping to build around a "core of a team that's won a lot of games" over the past three seasons, as well as a team "that can support a young quarterback who we're very excited about being here."

That young quarterback, of course, is 2024 first-round selection J.J. McCarthy, who has spent the past seven months rehabbing and recovering from a meniscus injury suffered during the Vikings first preseason game last year.

McCarthy joined Kay Adams' "Up & Up Adams" show Tuesday from Mexico, where he is participating in the NFLPA Golf Classic along with a handful of Vikings teammates and peers from around the league. During the conversation, McCarthy told Adams he hasn't been told by Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell or Adofo-Mensah he's the team's automatic starter.

It's a scenario McCarthy wholeheartedly embraces.

"They haven't told me, and I'm happy they didn't, because I try to earn it every single day, and I never want that to be given to me," he said. "It's such a privilege and an opportunity to give me that chance, and I'm just going to make the most of it every single day."

McCarthy also told Adams he's physically ready to go.

"I would say I'm a hundred percent; cheers to that," he said. "Staying consistent with the rehab process and not wavering from that. Staying disciplined on all the outside stuff and making sure I'm not chopping too much wood."

Though Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell haven't taken the approach of naming a "QB1" at this point in the process, the GM clearly communicated the anticipated plan.

"You know, when we pooled the resources we did to draft J.J., and you go through that long process, all those things […] that's the outcome we want," he said. "That's the outcome we're headed toward at every checkpoint, whether it's in the draft process or practice until the injury or, really, the offseason, he's met the bar.

"And he's exceeded our expectations at every point," Adofo-Mensah added. "I don't have the ability to tell you what the future is, but I can tell you what I expect to be the outcome this offseason."

He noted it's also the job of Vikings leadership to put together a quarterbacks room that's going to mesh, ideate as a group and prepare whomever the starter is for game day.

"But also provide, you know, insurance in case somebody needs to come in for a couple games," Adofo-Mensah said. "That's our job as a personnel department, to look at all the options out there and make sure we're setting ourselves up for the best we can."

Regarding available options, media members asked Adofo-Mensah to what degree veteran QB Aaron Rodgers has been considered as a possible roster addition.

The question is certainly understandable, Adofo-Mensah acknowledged, considering Rodgers' successful résumé in the league and the Vikings familiarity with the former division foe.

He also disclosed the Vikings had engaged in conversation with Rodgers.

"You're talking about a player that Kevin [has] known for a long time," Adofo-Mensah said. "So when you have a relationship like that, I'm typically the type that's like, 'Hey, whoever's got the best relationship, talk to him.'

"[O'Connell has] a lot of respect in that community, and he deserves it for a lot of great reasons," he added. "Not just what he brings from the schematics standpoint but how he cares about players and cares about people. […] He's got a relationship with Aaron, and they've had a lot of conversations. Obviously, he looped us in, and we met and go from there."

Adofo-Mensah said it was "special" to be involved in dialogue about a player of Rodgers' caliber, and that it's his and his staff's responsibility to ensure they're fully aware of every potential option.

"Again, we're trying to make sure we solve for scenarios that we don't know could possibly happen," he said. "We want to make sure there's competition in the room, to make sure that — you remember last [offseason] when J.J. and Sam [Darnold] really competed. That brought out the best in them.

"So you want that environment to challenge each other, but also to grow and learn and all those different things," he continued. "We're trying to solve for a lot of different things at once. From all those conversations comes a list of names — and maybe an order — and an intentional plan for how to best solve these things. So for a player like [Rodgers], he's always going to be in those conversations."

Adofo-Mensah added, "We're happy with where we are going forward."

Asked to clarify if Rodgers is or is not an option for the Vikings organization, referencing Tom Pelissero's March 19 report about Minnesota focusing on McCarthy, Adofo-Mensah reiterated the team's current position.

"We're happy with our [quarterbacks] room," he said. "Obviously we're going to talk a lot about J.J. McCarthy, but Brett Rypien, who's someone we brought in last offseason, who we thought made a lot of great decisions, quick decision-making, processing, a better athlete than people give him credit for, an accurate passer. So, we're excited about him."

Asked if the Vikings do plan to add another veteran quarterback to the room before offseason programming begins, Adofo-Mensah again emphasized all options will be considered and talked about.

"There's a lot of good players out there still. We've gotta have a dynamic where we're trying to improve the team but mindful of our compensatory pick situation and different things like that," he explained. "So, we're just really trying to be mindful of that and the right way to set us up to succeed."