The Minnesota Vikings will have a QB battle between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray to determine their starter. Many expect the former Arizona Cardinals star to win the competition, but Murray is learning a new offense that McCarthy has been in for two seasons now.
Nonetheless, Murray is probably the more talented QB of the two, which is why some see him as the favorite. Should the competition play out as many expect and the former No. 1 pick becomes the Vikings’ starter, the question will be what happens with McCarthy.
While there’s been speculation about a potential trade, don’t expect Minnesota to move on from their former Top 10 pick this year, as the Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins explains.
“If you were to trade him and did nothing else, you’re right back to where you were last year, and I think that’s where they said we can’t do that again, where Wentz is the backup, Max Brosmer is a three,” Scoggins said on the May 25 edition of “Purple Access.” “They don’t want to go back to that scenario.”
Moreover, Scoggins isn’t ruling out that McCarthy doesn’t look good while Murray has issues with learning the Minnesota offense.
“It’ll be interesting if J.J. has a lights-out training camp and outperforms Kyler in a lot of ways?“ Scoggins added. “Because Kyler’s learning. It may not be comfortable and smooth right away. We’re just throwing out some speculation about what that conversation would look like.
“I am, of course, going to chart reps, and that’s going to drive [Kevin O’Connell] crazy about who gets how many first-team reps and who gets second-team reps and all that.”
Minnesota Gets Major Question Ahead of QB Battle
Furthermore, Scoggins noted his curiosity about how the Vikings will divide reps between the two QBs as they figure out who emerges as the starter.
“The most important, or most interesting, thing about minicamp and OTAs, and the fact they’re going to have joint practices, is how you divvy up reps, the meaningful reps where you’re trying to get Kyler as acclimated as possible to a new system while also furthering McCarthy’s development,“ Scoggins said.
“We’ve talked about it a lot. There’s just not enough practices, not enough practice time, not enough live drills in a two-hour practice…“
Vikings, Kyler Murray Predicted to Be Successful Relationship
Should Murray emerge as the Vikings starter, former NFL QB and analyst Phil Simms shared his prediction of how the Murray experiment will go for Minnesota.
“I think it will be very successful,“ Simms said on the May 20 edition of “Simms Complete.” “Kevin needed this. He needed a different way, different thoughts. Do this, and you’ve got a quarterback that’s going to be fired up and ready to go to show everybody one more chance that he can be the guy for the team.”
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.
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