JJ McCarthy, Vikings
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Quarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
Things did not look great for JJ McCarthy’s future with the team that drafted him No. 10 overall just two years ago after the Minnesota Vikings decided to reunite with veteran quarterback Carson Wentz last week.
However, Alec Lewis of The Athletic has reported that McCarthy’s circumstances in Minneapolis are not currently so dire as some other longtime analysts/reporters have interpreted. One of the most prominent eyebrow raises following the Wentz signing came from Judd Zulgad, of SKOR North, on his Substack.
“The Vikings have been attempting to tell everyone that [Kyler] Murray would compete for the job, and up to this point the assumption was that battle would be with J.J. McCarthy,” Zulgad wrote. “That would leave Wentz as the No. 3 quarterback, and it’s difficult to believe he signed on March 19 to accept a role as the backup to the backup. It’s more likely that Murray will open training camp as the starter with Wentz behind him.”
While that could end up the order of signal-callers in the position group, Lewis cited team sources on Monday, March 23 who contended that signing Wentz was less about McCarthy’s skill set and depth chart positioning and more about the mistakes the franchise made in its QB room last season.
“This spring, the Vikings were determined to prevent a repeat — at all costs,” Lewis wrote. “This is why they were linked to as many quarterbacks as they were before free agency, and why they brought in Wentz after already signing Murray. Wentz’s addition is not a referendum on 23-year-old J.J. McCarthy’s future, according to team sources, but it is an exclamation point on the team’s plan.”
Vikings Recognize Handling of QB Room Last Offseason as Blunder
Carson Wentz quarterback Minnesota Vikings
GettyQuarterback Carson Wentz of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota let Sam Darnold walk for $100 million from the Seattle Seahawks, as offering him a contract in that range didn’t make sense with the team’s ultimate plan — to start McCarthy on a rookie-scale contract and use the salary cap savings to build around him.
According to Lewis, as well as other reports over the past year or so, the Vikings had hoped to bring back Daniel Jones, but “miscalculated” his “willingness to sign elsewhere for a more ready-made opportunity to be the starter.”
So Darnold won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks, while Jones led the Indianapolis Colts to an 8-2 start. He ultimately went 8-5, suffering an Achilles tear mid-game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14.
Meanwhile, McCarthy opened his NFL career 1-1 (he missed his entire rookie campaign with a knee injury) before suffering a high-ankle sprain. He missed the next five games, which Wentz started and posted a record of 2-3.
McCarthy finished the year with a record of 6-4. He completed 57.6 percent of his pass attempts and tallied 1,632 yards, 11 TDs and 12 INTs along with 181 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.
Vikings Not Tied to Any Quarterback as Week 1 Starter
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell talked all offseason long about bringing in competition for McCarthy before signing Murray. O’Connell refused to name a starter after Murray joined the team, which at least implies that McCarthy still has a chance to win the job.
Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler who got his release from the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month with more than $36 million guaranteed on his contract for 2026. As such, Minnesota was able to sign him to a league minimum deal that pays Murray $1.3 million this year. He will become a free agent again next spring if he doesn’t ink an extension with the Vikings before then.
That level of investment, plus the paltry $3 million deal Wentz signed, does not tie Minnesota to any of the three quarterbacks as the starter or the backup at this point in the process. However, if McCarthy does begin the season as the QB3, there could be a trade market that develops for him, which his representation may welcome.
At this point, the Vikings would most likely get an early Day 3 draft pick in return from a franchise like the Cardinals, Cleveland Browns or Pittsburgh Steelers — all of which could justify taking a low-cost flier on a young QB with upside, such as McCarthy.