The Minnesota Vikings are in the middle of a QB battle between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray. It’s the early stages of the competition with OTAs and mandatory minicamp now over.
Nonetheless, the battle will resume in training camp, but in the meantime, it’s likely both players will put in the work to be as prepared as possible for the competition. However, should the Vikings already call off this battle and name a starting QB?
In a June 10 video on his YouTube channel, The Volume’s John Middlekauff believes that Minnesota should give the starting job to Murray and call off the competition.
“I think right now they’re operating much more from a position of being scared of what’s going to be said about them,” Middlekauff said. “They’re worried about the reaction and the criticism. That’s where I think the new GM coming from Seattle, where they don’t care about any of that, can really help Kevin navigate the situation.
“If, a week into training camp, every rep you’re giving this guy with the ones is a waste, then just figure it out. Put him with the other group and let Kyler start getting comfortable in the offense because, come Week 1, he doesn’t have a choice… How about you let Kyler get these reps now? What are we wasting this for? Not have social media destroy you? Who cares? It does not matter.”
Will J.J. McCarthy Get Traded Should He Lose the QB Battle?
During his time in Arizona, Murray had a passer rating of 92.2 with 20,460 yards, 121 touchdowns, and 60 interceptions in 87 games, per StatMuse. Moreover, Middlekauff believes that McCarthy could be on the way out should he lose the starting QB battle to Murray.
“This has now become such a big story that I think they do this for show, even if internally they know, like, ‘Yeah, this guy’s going to be our starting quarterback,’” Middlekauff added. “Which, if you know that, sometimes you just kind of have to eat it. And what are you really eating? That J.J. McCarthy couldn’t win the job?
“No one thinks he’s going to, besides probably J.J. and J.J.’s parents. This is all headed to where I think it feels inevitable at this point of this guy being traded before the start of the season because if he doesn’t win the job, you’re not going to keep him on the team.”
LeSean McCoy Doesn’t Hold Back on Vikings’ Kyler Murray
Nonetheless, one former player doubts that Murray can be the equivalent of Sam Darnold, who got his NFL career on track in his late 20s and eventually won a Super Bowl.
In the June 9 edition of “Speakeasy,” former NFL running back LeSean McCoy shared a brutal message aimed at people who believe that the former can still be an impact player who can lead Minnesota to a championship.
“I love a super confident, arrogant player that’s good,” McCoy said. “But you know what I hate? I hate a super cocky, arrogant player that’s not that good, that’s a little above average. That is Kyler Murray. As long as I’ve been watching, when you watch Kyler Murray, yo, he goes, he gets so bad where he starts, you know what, I’ve been great in high school, I’ve been great.
“What have you done for us lately? Because you’ve had some good wide receivers. You had some, and they still trying to figure out what the hell you are doing. They say, ‘One, what are you looking at?’ So when he came to Minnesota, I keep saying like, ‘Why is everybody acting like he’s about to save the day?’”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Vikings Urged to Make Major Kyler Murray Decision Amid QB Battle appeared first on HEAVY.