Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell responded to the team’s legendary wideout Cris Carter over a claim regarding J.J. McCarthy during an Aug. 3 appearance on KFAN.
Carter recently stated that O’Connell was a passenger in the decision to draft McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Moreover, it was former Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah who was driving the bus to draft McCarthy.
Nonetheless, O’Connell responded to that claim when talking with Dan Barreiro of KFAN.
“I can’t really speak to [Carter’s] sources,” O’Connell said. “I will just say this: It was a time and place in this organization where there was a lot of momentum, including from me, to draft a quarterback and try to get a quarterback that we felt we could develop and build around under the premier development we thought we could provide with time on task.
“We also had a guy like Sam that I had a ton of confidence would go out there and have a great year, and we would figure it out after that. But I wanted the same thing happening now back then.
“I wanted a competitive daily situation, and J.J. McCarthy, in that first training camp, had gone out against the Raiders and played well. We were going to those joint practices. I don’t think people would have been asking that question at that moment. The only difference between now and then is 10 football games in three years.”
Kevin O’Connell Wants Healthy Competition for Minnesota
Furthermore, O’Connell spoke about the importance of having internal competition after not having that last season.
The Vikings went all in on McCarthy during the 2025 campaign, and it ended up being a rollercoaster season with the signal-caller showing flashes but lacking consistency and also dealing with injuries.
As a result, this time around, Minnesota wants McCarthy to earn the starting job by facing competition.
“We’re really trying to do a lot of things right now with the best interest of the Minnesota Vikings, winning games and making sure we give both these guys, and really all of our team, the best chance to have success this year,” O’Connell added. “Coaching involves a lot of intricate details and things that matter.
“We want to see these guys go out there, and in those moments where maybe you can get complacent, if a guy is capable of doing that at this level with the way we compete every day, we want to make sure there are guys pushing each other. Every moment in the meeting room matters.”
Justin Jefferson on Vikings’ QB Competition
Recently, Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson issued an update on the team’s QB battle and what he’s seeing from the two signal-callers.
“Improvements,“ Jefferson told reporters on July 31. “I see a lot of great plays being out there. I just see a lot of learning out there. We’re really all just trying to get on the same page and get connected like we know we should be. Once it all gets dialed in, the connection, the relationship, and all of that stuff just comes together.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Doesn’t Hold Back on J.J. McCarthy Claim appeared first on HEAVY.