I just watched the replay of the GMFB (Good Morning Football ) gang talking about Kyler Murray being the biggest wild card in the NFC this season. But they weren't alone in wondering if "Form-er follows function." Specifically referring to O'Connell discussing the first day of OTAs, and how the quarterback competition is shaking out.
O'Connell let slip the phrase of "former captain" in discussing J.J. McCarthy, and just as quickly tried to backpedal.
Now, team captains are voted on by the players themselves, and not the coaches? That would imply that the locker room chose not to convey that honor. Or maybe they haven't chosen team captains yet, because it's far too early in the offseason and cutdowns are months away.
So the context of O'Connell's turn of phrase will surely be one of the more interesting topics of conversation long after the actual starting quarterback takes the first snap of the season. And in the meantime, how will the unfortunate Freudian slip affect daily practice and team dynamics?
Personally, I think it's a mistake for teams to sacrifice rookie quarterbacks to the football gods in their first year in the league. Jordan Love was allowed to sit and learn, but Caleb Williams had a baptism by fire. And just look at what happened to Trey Lance. Is he on his third or fourth team by now? J.J. McCarthy clearly could have benefited from having a couple seasons to soak up experience but was unfortunately denied that by his preseason injury in year one.
But J.J.'s fifth-year option is fast approaching, and I'm guessing he doesn't get a "gimme bonus" extra year for missing that first year. But year two was a miasma-mix of injuries, "deer in headlights" indecision and inconsistency, yet a redeeming arc to close out the season. So how much patience do the Vikings owners and coaches have in his growth path? Will they give him a longer leash to see how Kyler's presence affects his maturity and decision making?
And with Kyler being a one-year rental, and the fact that he has a no-tag clause, if he excels, could the Vikings even afford a long-term extension in the current $50-65 million stratosphere that NFL teams are doling out willy-nilly these days? Just ask Miami and Arizona, or especially Cleveland, how efficient it is to kick the salary cap can down the road.
Sincerely,
— David A. (From the North Shore but stuck in the South)
McCarthy and Murray have gotten the fishbowl treatment during OTAs with folks picking apart any visuals of the QBs throwing that made their way to the internet (either filmed by Vikings Entertainment Network or media members). Some of that is to be expected, given how much people care about the NFL and how rare a starting QB job is.
When he was in Tennessee, Matt Hasselbeck said he viewed the QB competition with Jake Locker as competing with everyone else in the world a team could find to play quarterback.
There's been some erroneous jumping to conclusions (anyone remember the "Jump to Conclusions Mat" in Office Space?) regarding intentions of actions, and the body language analysts have been trying to read between the lines between plays.
O'Connell already is accustomed to his words being parsed.