The Minnesota Vikings‘ QB battle is over as the organization decided that Kyler Murray is the starter, edging out J.J. McCarthy. As a result, Murray will now get the first-team reps ahead of the Vikings’ first preseason game on Aug. 15 against the New York Giants.
With Murray now QB1 in Minnesota, the next question is what happens with McCarthy, given that Carson Wentz is also on the roster. McCarthy could be QB2 and wait for his opportunity since Murray also has an injury history, or could he want a fresh start elsewhere?
During an Aug. 11 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport shared an outlook on McCarthy’s future with the Vikings.
“I do not know if the Vikings would trade J.J. because the only question now is he’s going to be the backup,” Rapoport said. “The question now is if something happens to Kyler, is he your best option moving forward? The Vikings are a team that I think is going to be in it. [Carson Wentz] has played well enough to give you confidence that if he had to play, he’d be okay or maybe better.
“So that’s what I’m saying. If you’re a team that likes J.J. coming out, it actually might make some sense to say, maybe we’ll just trade for him and develop him. Daniel Jones is a fantastic example of when he went to the Vikings a couple years ago.”
Minnesota Have to Make a Decision on J.J. McCarthy
Meanwhile, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports also shared the outlook for McCarthy in Minnesota and even in the NFL, as he believes the former first-round pick has a cloudy future.
“How’s [McCarthy] going to handle being the guy who loses the job?” Prisco said during an Aug. 11 appearance on “CBS Sports HQ.” It didn’t sound like he was very comfortable when they were competing for the job. You saw some of the things he said.
“It didn’t seem like it was a competition that had a lot of friendliness to it, which, by the way, it probably shouldn’t, at least if you’re competing for the starting job. The bottom line is I think Kyler Murray will be the starting quarterback.
“I think they have to make a decision on J.J. McCarthy. Do you get rid of him? Do you trade him? And who would want him? What team out there wants J.J. McCarthy? At this late stage, do you want to take a chance on a guy like that?”
The Vikings Don’t Have to Trade J.J. McCarthy
While there are conversations about McCarthy and his future in Minnesota, former NFL QB Kurt Warner doesn’t believe the Vikings need to ship him off. He believes that this situation now allows for the team to bring McCarthy along in what is essentially his second season, given that he missed his entire rookie season due to injury.
“We’ve got a veteran guy, we can start that guy, and we can let J.J. continue to grow,” Warner said on Aug. 11 on the NFL Network. “So instead of forcing him to have to play before he’s ready, now maybe we can wait until we think he’s ready and putting his best foot forward.
“Then we can place him back in there, whether that’s a year from now if Kyler doesn’t re-sign, whether that’s a couple years if Kyler does sign a longer-term deal if he has success this year.
“But I just think it’s too early. I’ve seen too many guys that get thrown in early, then they get discarded, and they never get a chance to truly learn the position so we can see what they can be as a quarterback.”
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