Quarterback J.J. McCarthy is locked in a fierce battle with veteran Kyler Murray to become the Minnesota Vikings’ starter next season. After a mixed season for McCarthy under center for the Vikings last year, coach Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings signed Murray to a one-year deal after his release by the Arizona Cardinals.
Analyst Spells Doom for J.J. McCarthy’s Vikings Career
During Friday’s segment of “The Herd” show, host Colin Cowherd predicted that Murray would win the Vikings’ QB1 job over McCarthy and that the former Michigan QB would not flourish in Minnesota.
“You can’t fool athletes; everybody in the room knows quarterback is the issue,” Cowherd said. “That’s why I’ve said before, Kyler Murray’s gonna work here. He’s not gonna work as much as Sam Darnold because he’s not as good as Sam Darnold. But Kyler Murray is gonna win the job because he’s gonna own the locker room. Because the players think he’s more talented, and J.J. McCarthy may flourish elsewhere.
“But when you go to a solid organization, and it doesn’t work after two or three years, it’s not gonna work. This is not the Jets… So, eventually, even if you have a rocky start, you find your way in this league pretty quickly. And I think with J.J. McCarthy, I think he can find another organization like Arizona, but it’s not working. Because Minnesota is well-run. And competition at QB in the NFL is nonsense.”
After being selected No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Vikings, McCarthy missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. After Sam Darnold left Minnesota for the Seattle Seahawks, McCarthy was named the Vikings’ QB1 last season.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM: PFN’s FREE NFL Mock Draft Simulator
The Vikings went 9-8 last year and 6-4 in games that McCarthy started. The former Michigan Wolverines star earned a PFN QB Impact score of 67.0, ranking him at No. 34 in the league after tallying 1,632 passing yards on 57.6% completion, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, while adding 181 rushing yards and 4 scores.
In an injury-plagued season in Arizona, Murray managed 962 passing yards on 68.3% completion, 6 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, while adding 173 rushing yards and one score in five games.
PREDICT THE NFL SEASON: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
During an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show” this week, O’Connell addressed the QB1 battle between McCarthy and Murray.
“Kyler has come in and done a great job. J.J. I think, has benefited from it, he had a really good spring,” O’Connell said. “We wanna get back to the standard of having the quarterback position be a driving force behind us winning by doing their job and hopefully activating the great players they get to play with.”
