Reps, reps, reps. It's all about repetitions for Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.

As Head Coach Kevin O'Connell put it, Darnold will receive a "heckuva good amount of work" this week in joint practices against the Cleveland Browns.

O'Connell met with the media at Cleveland's training facilities in Berea, Ohio, on Wednesday to address J.J. McCarthy’s season-ending knee surgery and his evolving plans for Darnold and Nick Mullens, leading up to the start of two Vikings-Browns joint practices. The teams convene for a preseason game Saturday.

"I don't believe Sam will play in that football game," O'Connell said prior to Wednesday's training session. "We're going to get a pretty good amount of work – 1s vs. 1s out here the next two days."

The 27-year-old Darnold has taken most of the first-team reps in practices and started Minnesota's preseason opener. McCarthy made his NFL debut Saturday with success but suffered a torn meniscus. He underwent an operation to repair the meniscus in his right knee.

The injury places Mullens, 29, back in the undisputed backup role behind Darnold.

"It's one of the things that I love about these joint practices," added O'Connell, highlighting an array of competitive situations in team periods, as well as 7-on-7s and 1-on-1s, with passers the focus of many drills. "You get basically the game feel. We don't go to the ground; there's no tackles but it's incredibly physical. For Sam, and really all of our quarterbacks, we've got a good plan in place for Saturday."

Darnold played the initial series of Minnesota's exhibition opener against Las Vegas and looked strong, completing explosive pass plays of 19 and 26 yards as he drove the Vikings inside the Raiders 5-yard line.

On one throw, he connected on a field-out cut despite having his front leg inadvertently chopped out beneath him when running back Ty Chandler was attempting to set up in pass protection. On another, Darnold demonstrated elite anticipatory skills, layering an inside breaking route to receiver Jalen Nailor.

O'Connell believes Darnold's ownership of the offense has reached a good place already. He noted that Darnold is leading from an Xs and Os standpoint and is benefitting from a quarterback room that has a lot of runway to improve. Darnold is displaying a good work ethic to his teammates with his daily grind.

"I feel like each day he's getting a better feel for the offense," said sixth-year center Garrett Bradbury, praising Darnold for making an effort to build relationships with players on and off the field. "I think he connects with just about everyone. … He's awesome to work with, a great friend [and] teammate."

All that stuff resonates inside the locker room and pays dividends between the white lines.

"You stack enough of that together, it starts [to look and sound] like leadership," said O'Connell, also mentioning he envisions Darnold's trajectory and comfort to keep rising with more competitive reps.

Bradbury pointed to an instance Wednesday when Browns defenders were timing up the snap. He communicated with Darnold about changing the cadence, and the Browns jumped offsides.

"It's those kinds of reps that you want with him – that you can kind of change things on the fly – whether it's in the game or practices. I feel really comfortable with him," Bradbury said. "He's done a great job."

Darnold appeared in 10 games, with one start, in 2023 for San Francisco. He went 16-for-26 (61.5%) in the 49ers regular-season finale against the Rams, gaining 189 yards and a touchdown through the air.

The 2018 No. 3 overall pick posted his highest career touchdown percentage with the Panthers in 2022, tossing seven touchdowns against only three interceptions (82-for-140; 58.6%) in six games and starts.

For what it's worth, Darnold has been consistently brilliant in practice on deep passes, showing off expert accuracy and touch to Nailor, Justin Jefferson and others, including tight end Johnny Mundt.

Of course, the injury to McCarthy adds a kind of pressure to Darnold – and a bigger spotlight on Mullens.

O'Connell trusts what the returning quarterback brings to the table.

"Sam and J.J. basically took all the reps for the better part of the last three weeks," said O'Connell, expressing a deal of confidence in Mullens by saying the split of snaps was by design and partially due to the veteran's experience in the Vikings system. "[Nick is] not just another capable guy in that quarterback room – he is providing context and experience and understanding of our offense on a daily basis that adds to [Quarterbacks Coach] Josh [McCown], [Assistant Offensive Coordinator] Grant [Udinski], [Offensive Coordinator] Wes [Phillips] and myself. His experience last year was critical."

Mullens started three of the team's final four games in 2023, during the Vikings quarterback carousel that also featured Joshua Dobbs and Jaren Hall after Kirk Cousins sustained a year-ending Achilles injury in Week 8 at Green Bay.

Mullens exhibited a downfield fearlessness that resulted in three games of 300-plus passing yards. That same aggression contributed to eight interceptions.

"I think he learned that he could be an explosive driver of our offense and also had some lessons of taking care of the football and trying to make sure we're playing aggressively but not over the line to where you put the ball at risk of being turned over," reflected O'Connell, sharing the club is excited by Mullens because of ups and downs that he's navigated. "He's in a position to be a guy we can rely on."

Overall, Mullens has surpassed the low expectations that perpetually follow an undrafted backup.

He's started 20 of 29 games for three different teams (Minnesota, Cleveland and San Francisco) across six seasons. He's ripped 528 career completions at a 65.8% clip for 6,391 yards and 34 passing touchdowns.

Also, Mullens' resilience in sticking around and earning the respect of Vikings coaches and teammates speaks volumes. In many ways, his career reflects how the organization has dealt with recent adversity.

"It's been a stretch now, where I think we've proven to ourselves within the walls of the building and hopefully to our fanbase, that we're ready to withstand and persevere and overcome," O'Connell said.

He reiterated that Mullens will begin to receive far more reps so he's "ready to be one snap away."