Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t agree that the team has failed to give third-year signal-caller JJ McCarthy are fair chance to establish himself as the starting quarterback.
Kyle Brandt of “Good Morning Football” asked O’Connell on Thursday, July 30 to address outside criticisms that McCarthy, who the team drafted No. 10 overall in 2024, didn’t get an adequate chance to prove himself/win the franchise job before Minnesota panicked and brought Kyler Murray into the fold.
“He’s still a very young player in this league,” O’Connell responded. “We want to let him continue to develop and continue to grow. And we ultimately want to have him be a guy that can be in a position to help us win football games. But in retrospect, at the same time, many times, we’re saying we want that right now.”
Kevin O’Connell Mentioned JJ McCarthy’s Injuries Multiple Times in Interview About QB Position
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
O’Connell spoke about injuries playing a factor in McCarthy’s career trajectory as well as the team’s decisions under center after two years in which health problems have impacted both the QB’s availability and performance.
“I believe he’s a young, talented player with a ton of upside in front of him. We can’t go backwards and change the past of maybe some of that development time that was lost … in Year 1,” O’Connell said. “He gets hurt and misses some time [in Year 2]. That is not anybody’s fault. That’s part of the game.”
“So now what we’re trying to do is just make sure, always being mindful of his individual development, where we think he is at and how we can help get him to a place, through competition, that will be a really good outcome for JJ and the Minnesota Vikings,” O’Connell continued. “And it’s my job to make sure that we’re always doing what we think is best to win football games.”
Vikings Surrounded JJ McCarthy With 2 Veteran QBs This Year in Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz
GettyQuarterback Carson Wentz of the Minnesota Vikings.
Clearly, part of doing everything the team can to win football games meant flanking McCarthy with multiple veteran quarterbacks after he missed his entire rookie campaign with a knee injury and sat out seven contests last year due to three separate health issues.
Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler and former No. 1 pick who most analysts around the NFL believe will ultimately win the starting job in Minnesota come Week 1.
“If Murray were a perfect solution, the [Arizona] Cardinals wouldn’t be paying him $36 million to play for someone else,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote Wednesday. “It’s absolutely possible McCarthy proves to be the better option in camp. But given the way last season went, it does feel as if McCarthy is starting from behind and would really have to be lights out to win the job.”
Minnesota also brought back Carson Wentz on a one-year deal after he started five games in 2025 while McCarthy was out with a high-ankle sprain that he sustained in Week 2. Wentz went 2-3 and proved competent in O’Connell’s system before a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery ended his campaign.
If Murray does win the starting job as Graziano predicted, McCarthy is all but certain to begin the season as QB2. However, given Murray’s potential issues in O’Connell’s offense along with his own relevant history of injuries, and McCarthy’s problems with consistency and health, it is possible that Wentz starts again for the Vikings at some point in 2026.
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