It's inarguable that J.J. McCarthy has struggled during his first five starts, and more so than the vast majority of highly-drafted QBs. McCarthy has addressed the rough start to his NFL career, saying he's still learning how to play the position the way the Vikings coach it. However, in the NFL, there's often little room for patience, especially for a young QB as highly touted as McCarthy, on as talented a roster as the Vikings have.
Social media, and all of the armchair QB gurus that live there, has been increasingly vocal about the long-term trajectory of McCarthy. Analysts across the media landscape have also started to jump in. ESPN's Dan Orlovsky broke down the Vikings QB's mechanics on a segment on NFL Live on Wednesday, saying there are still reasons to be hopeful because there are "correctable things."
Insiders have even gotten in on the McCarthy noise, with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio claiming the team could look to bring in Mac Jones next offseason. The latest insider to question the long-term future of McCarthy as the Vikings' QB is The Athletic's Dianna Russini, who wondered out loud whether McCarthy will even be in Minnesota next season.
"I think the question we gotta start asking ... is J.J. McCarthy going to be a Minnesota Viking quarterback next season?" Russini asked on a recent episode of the Hoge & Jahns podcast. "We gotta wonder."
“I think the question we gotta start asking…is JJ McCarthy going to be a Minnesota Vikings Quarterback next season?” @DMRussini on @HogeAndJahns #Skol pic.twitter.com/EWvJniWHVS
— Payton Halas (@PaytonHalas) November 19, 2025
Questioning whether the Vikings go out and bring in competition for McCarthy next season, considering the roster they have, feels like a fair assessment of where things are. Going as far as wondering whether the QB the Vikings selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft will even be on the roster in 2026 feels like a bit of a reach.
Throughout his tenure as Vikings head coach, O'Connell has repeatedly said that it's organizations that fail young quarterbacks more than young quarterbacks fail organizations. Despite the struggles and admitted frustrations, O'Connell has stood behind McCarthy amid his development.
It's rightfully fair to expect a little more than a 52.9 completion percentage out of a quarterback that has some of the best receiving talent in the entire league. O'Connell, when asked about McCarthy's latest struggles in a 19-17 loss to the Bears on Sunday, said, "We're all just looking for continued evidence of the growth that he can take some of the things that he's working very hard (on) on the practice field."
"The phrase that I have been using with him, we gotta start seeing the cement dry on some of the things that we've really worked hard to make football habits for him from a fundamentals and technique standpoint," continued O'Connell.
Minnesota's offseason dealings — letting Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones walk — put a lot of pressure on McCarthy to be successful early on. That is something the 22-year-old, getting his first taste of the NFL after missing his rookie season with a knee injury, has struggled to live up to so far.
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When looking back at the offseason discourse around the Vikings' moves, Russini noted, "I think a lot of us were looking at it like 'Maybe don't believe in him just yet.' Like, it's fine that you believe in him, but for right now, the way this roster is constructed, it's built to win. Like, just pay Sam, or go bring in Aaron Rodgers. Bring in someone because J.J. McCarthy is coming off a significant injury, and he just doesn't have the reps, the practice reps. Forget the game. The practice reps, that's just such a big risk."
"But Kevin O'Connell was such a good coach that I think they were willing to roll the dice on it and be like, 'Alright, he can get the best out of him.' And they loved what he was about, in terms of the work ethic," continued Russini. "All the stuff I heard behind the scenes like of J.J. in the summer was just like, he's blown the doors off the coaching staff and even the players."
It's that bit, about the offseason belief in the inexperienced quarterback, that a lot of analysts, insiders, and social media accounts have been pouncing on repeatedly over the past couple weeks as McCarthy has continued to struggle. It will remain a focal point if McCarthy's issues continue over the final seven weeks of the season.