Minnesota quarterback Kyler Murray has staked his claim to be the Vikings’ QB1 next season over the incumbent J.J. McCarthy. Earlier this week, Murray caused widespread discourse among fans and analysts after discussing the difficulty of splitting first-team reps with McCarthy during the Vikings’ minicamp.
Vikings Coach Responds to Kyler Murray’s QB1 Comments
While speaking to reporters, Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the impact of Murray’s quotes and detailed his plan for the Vikings’ QB1 for their Week 1 clash against the Green Bay Packers.
“It was more about hearing the full quote,” O’Connell said. “I know what he was intending. It was very similar to conversations we’ve had privately and even as a group. It’s a foundation to build off of. Every rep obviously matters, but this time of year, the beauty of not going full speed on a lot of reps is that you can get a lot out of watching other guys as well.
“Those guys both know we have a plan in place to make sure the decision we make is gonna be what’s best for the Minnesota Vikings. The timeline does involve making sure our starter is ready to go. We wanna make sure that by the time we play the Packers, that there’s been ample time to have the best possible offense that we can have.”
The former Oklahoma Sooners star took part in an equal number of snaps as McCarthy during the Vikings’ minicamp drills this week, as was the trend during the team’s OTAs.
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Murray, who was a starter for the Arizona Cardinals after being selected No. 1 overall during the 2019 NFL Draft, established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league, winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. In addition, he led the Cardinals to the playoffs in 2021, for the first time since 2015.
After being released by the Cardinals after seven years, Murray signed a one-year contract with the Vikings, who went 9-8 last year and 6-4 in games that McCarthy started last season.
While speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s minicamp, Murray further detailed how he would deal with splitting reps with McCarthy.
“I’ve kind of just went full head of steam and embraced the part of being uncomfortable,” Murray said. “I haven’t been in this position much, but now being in it, why not make the most of it?
“Obviously, there’s times I’m out there thinking and stuff like that where I wouldn’t be thinking usually, but it’s part of the process, and this is the time where we’re all getting better.”
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In an injury-hit last season in Arizona, Murray managed 962 passing yards on 68.3% completion, six touchdowns and three interceptions, while adding 173 rushing yards and one score and earning a PFSN QB Impact score of 75.1, good for No. 21 in the league.
