The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for the 2026 NFL season. They finished third in the NFC North a year ago, and they would certainly like to go further this coming campaign. One of the major storylines surrounding this team heading into Week 1 is quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
McCarthy was the starting signal-caller for much of the 2025 campaign. However, this year is going to be much different. Veteran Kyler Murray has won the starting job out of training camp. This will leave the 23-year-old McCarthy on the bench for the foreseeable future.
The Vikings could certainly take their time in developing the former Michigan star. But in the eyes of one NFL analyst, this may not be the case at all. And their recent actions in practice could signal the beginning of the end for McCarthy in Minnesota.
Vikings May Be Done with J.J. McCarthy, per NFL Analyst
In a recent practice, both McCarthy and veteran Carson Wentz reportedly received time under center. However, it appears that Wentz took the bulk of the snaps. It’s an intriguing decision considering McCarthy’s need for reps so early in his career. For Yahoo Sports analyst Hayden Winks, this was a very telling move from Minnesota.
“Vikings giving Carson Wentz twice as many snaps as JJ McCarthy is an odd choice if they are actually trying to develop him. Occam’s razor: They are done,” the analyst posted on social media.
Vikings giving Carson Wentz twice as many snaps as JJ McCarthy is an odd choice if they are actually trying to develop him. Occam’s razor: They are done.
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) August 16, 2026
Wentz played five games for Minnesota in 2025. He took over when McCarthy suffered an injury early in the year that knocked him out for nearly two months. The veteran signal-caller led Minnesota to a 2-3 record in that time.
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Minnesota elected to bring Wentz back this offseason to serve as veteran depth. Murray was an obvious candidate for the starting job. But having Wentz gave the Vikings another option should they decide to move on from McCarthy, or in the case of injury.
McCarthy threw for a little more than 1,600 yards in 2025. He had the fifth-worst QB Impact score (67.0) in the league, according to PFN’s in-house QB Impact Metric. Despite finishing 9-8, Minnesota only mustered a third-place finish in the NFC North.
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The NFC North promises to be a gauntlet once again this year. The Vikings believe they have a chance to compete in this division. However, they will need to have their quarterback play his best football throughout the season.
The Vikings open the 2026 campaign on Sept. 13 at home against the Green Bay Packers.
