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It may not have come as a surprise to people that Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell quickly named Kyler Murray the starting quarterback of his offense over J.J. McCarthy, the team’s 2024 first-round selection.
But a recent report indicates it’s more than just what happened on the training camp practice field between Murray and McCarthy that may have factored into such a quick decision.
It was last summer when some within the Vikings organization were concerned that McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury and struggled with consistency in 2025, was “unpredictable,” according to CBS Sports.
Some believed that Max Brosmer, who was an undrafted free agent added to the quarterbacks room, should’ve been the one under center for Minnesota in Week 1.
That wasn’t the case, but the Vikings made it known after watching McCarthy complete 57.6% of his passes, while throwing 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 games — Minnesota went 6-4 over that span — they were in the quarterback market this offseason.
KYLER MURRAY AND JJ MCCARTHY GIVE WILDLY DIFFERENT ANSWERS ABOUT THEIR VIKINGS QB ROOM DYNAMIC
“A franchise quarterback is supposed to be the stability piece of a franchise. Like, you know what you’re getting every day. But with J.J., you weren’t sure which version you were going to get,” the source told the outlet.
“I think he’s just still so young and may not have understood yet what that position fully entails and things like the consistency and day-to-day commitment.”
The Vikings landed Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick of the Arizona Cardinals, who moved on from him after a roller-coaster tenure in the desert.
And before they faced the New York Giants for their first preseason game of the 2026 NFL season, the Vikings named Murray their starter.
So, what exactly does McCarthy’s future hold in Year 3 and serving as a backup now? One defensive coach told CBS Sports “he is talented,” though he needs to “learn how to manage a game and not do too much and not do more than what’s required of him.” If that happens, perhaps the Vikings, or a different team, can trust him in a starting role.
But that’s the thing. Is it too soon to discuss McCarthy playing for a different team already? The Vikings do have a new GM, Nolan Teasley, who is not tied to McCarthy’s selection. That was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whom the Vikings fired in the offseason.
There’s also the injury factor that hasn’t allowed McCarthy to really get going after winning a national championship with Michigan and being a top 10 pick of the Vikings. The sample size is only 10 games, and though his quarterback rating was the second-worst among signal-callers with more than 155 pass attempts, there were some flashes of good quarterback play.
And then there’s his age. McCarthy is only 23 years old and can still grow and develop. But he still has tons to prove.
Murray has proven more in his career and is someone O’Connell trusts more right now with his offense. And O’Connell knows what works. Just look at what he did with Sam Darnold in 2024 while McCarthy was injured. Darnold revived his career and won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last season.
One can’t blame Vikings fans if they believe O’Connell can revitalize Murray’s career, but they certainly will hope he will after the announcement was made.
McCarthy will have to keep working and wait for that next moment to prove himself.
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In his first preseason work with the Vikings Saturday against the Giants, McCarthy went 4-of-7 for 34 yards and a sack. Carson Wentz, who is also battling for the backup role behind Murray, went 6-of-11 for 56 yards with one touchdown pass to Myles Price.
Murray played the opening series for the Vikings, connecting on two of his three pass attempts, including a third-and-7 strike to keep a scoring drive alive.
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