The Minnesota Vikings have officially named veteran quarterback Kyler Murray as their starter. Murray joined Minnesota this offseason to compete with former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. For the 2026 NFL season, it will be Murray’s show in Minnesota.
It’s been a bit of a fall from grace for McCarthy over the last year or so. He entered the 2025 season as a promising NFL quarterback. But Minnesota struggled mightily and missed the playoffs by finishing third in the NFC North.
Whatever promise McCarthy may have, the Vikings are focused on winning games. That is the primary objective for head coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff. As a result, Murray gets the nod. And this may be leading to some doubts over McCarthy’s place within the organization.
Former NFL QB Questions J.J. McCarthy’s Standing In Vikings Locker Room
In a segment of “Pro Football Talk,” with Mike Florio, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms discussed the news of Murray taking the starting job. And Simms dropped an interesting take about how the locker room views McCarthy at this time.
“The team, from everything I’ve heard, what you look at from a 1000 feet above, there’s questions about J.J. McCarthy,” Simms said. “Can he be the guy? Yeah, we saw moments. But I don’t think the locker room believes in him. We don’t think the fanbase totally believes in him.”
In Simms’ view, Minnesota can sort of reset a bit by letting McCarthy sit. Take him out of the limelight, so to speak, and allow him to focus on learning from an accomplished quarterback such as Murray.
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“It was kind of a no-win situation. This is the best way for the Vikings right now, and Kyler Murray, of course. But it’s the best thing for J.J. McCarthy. It is,” the former NFL QB added.
McCarthy played 10 games in 2025 after losing his entire rookie season to injury. The Vikings signal-caller threw for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. According to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, McCarthy finished last season with an impact score of 67.0, ranking fifth-worst in the league.
Minnesota had visions of making a run toward the playoffs. They finished 14-3 the year prior, missing the division title only due to a Week 18 loss to the 15-2 Detroit Lions.
Unfortunately, McCarthy was unable to lead the Vikings to the playoffs in 2025. He is only 23 years old, so perhaps he can benefit from sitting for another season. In any event, Murray is getting the nod for Minnesota in 2026.
Murray will make his Vikings debut on September 13 when Minnesota takes on its division rival, the Green Bay Packers.
