The Minnesota Vikings aren’t putting all their eggs in the J.J. McCarthy basket this upcoming 2026 NFL season. This offseason, Minnesota signed former No. 1 pick Kyler Murray after the Arizona Cardinals cut ties with him.
As a result, if McCarthy is going to be the starter this upcoming campaign, he’ll have to earn it, as many see Murray as the favorite in the QB battle. Nonetheless, with Murray now in the mix, the Vikings’ offensive line will have to prepare to potentially protect a QB who makes plays often with his legs.
On the May 7 edition of “Green Light with Chris Long,” Vikings’ Brian O’Neill offered his first impressions of the team’s new signal-caller, who many expect to be the Week 1 starter.
“Kyler’s been cool,” O’Neill said. “We just started five days ago. He’s been great [and] he made sure he introduced himself to all the linemen right away; he’s gotten snaps with some of our centers already.
“He’s been cool. I don’t know him that well. I’ve been with him for a week, but I obviously have a lot of respect for him, watching him over the years. He’s been a hell of a player.”
Last season with the Cardinals, Murray posted a 72.2 overall PFF grade, even though his campaign was cut short due to injury. Moreover, across 195 dropbacks, the 28-year-old threw for 962 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also recorded four big-time throws and three turnover-worthy plays.
Brian O’Neill on Protecting a Mobile Quarterback
Moreover, O’Neil spoke about what it will be like to go from quarterbacks that mainly stay in the pocket to a mobile signal-caller who isn’t afraid to get out of the pocket to extend plays and make things happen with his legs.
“We’ll find out how I’ve got to change it,” O’Neil added. “I think I’ve kind of had, I had Kirk [Cousins] for six years, where you knew exactly where his back foot was going to be, and you knew where he was going to be in the pocket.
“There are good sides and bad sides where, maybe with a guy like Kyler, and we got some of this with J.J. too, where if you have a guy who can run and break one for 30 or 40, as an offensive lineman, they might have more rush lane integrity.
“If you have a guy who’s going to be in the same exact spot, you can run more three-man games, four-man games, which are harder to deal with. But if you’ve got a guy who can break a big one and you’re going to double-team Jets, at some point, we might not know where he is.”
Randy Moss Weighs In on Vikings QB Situation
Once the Vikings’ QB battle is underway, there will be plenty of takes and opinions emerging. Vikings legend Randy Moss didn’t hold back his opinion on Minnesota’s quarterback situation in an interview with Bleacher Report, and it appears he has a clear favorite.
“When you look at the success of the team, either good or bad, it has been because of the quarterback play,“ Moss said in the article that was published on May 4. “You had Sam Darnold, you had Daniel Jones. But you go with the youngster McCarthy, and he was not able to provide that answer, so you had to go out and get a guy like Kyler Murray.“
“What I’m excited about is the opportunity in front of Kyler Murray,“ said Moss. “He’s got a great wide receiver in Justin Jefferson, who now can try to regain his dominance as the No. 1 wide receiver in all of football. Kyler Murray also has something to prove. He was the future of the Arizona Cardinals, but they basically threw him away.”
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