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EAGAN, Minn. -- Take a look at the first words coach Kevin O'Connell said to the first question he faced this offseason about the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback situation.
"When I think about it," O'Connell said on Jan. 13, "it's about having the most talented and deep quarterback room you can."
As it turns out, that response accurately predicted how the Vikings would approach the position over the ensuing 10 weeks. They signed Kyler Murray, the most physically gifted and accomplished quarterback available on the free agent market, and later re-signed veteran Carson Wentz.
Along with J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings will head into offseason workouts next month with three passers who were selected among the top 10 picks of their respective drafts. And because Murray will receive almost all of his $36.8 million salary from the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikings have all four of their quarterbacks signed (including Max Brosmer) for $11 million in cap space this season -- seventh lowest in the NFL.
O'Connell figures to face repeated media questions about the specifics of his plan next week at the NFL league meetings, but the Vikings' intentions -- for McCarthy to be challenged and potentially supplanted by a new arrival -- have remained clear all winter.
Some observers have zeroed in on O'Connell's refusal to lay out a depth chart and have used it to speculate on McCarthy's future, perceived questions about Murray's fit and even Wentz's decision to return to a seemingly crowded room. However, we can trace much of what has and likely will happen with public statements from O'Connell and Rob Brzezinski, who is serving as the Vikings' interim general manager.
Here's what Vikings decision-makers have said about the quarterback situation so far:
The Vikings are more than comfortable with Murray's fit in their offense.
O'Connell, March 12: "When you actually dive in and really study -- snap in and snap out -- Kyler's experience at the position, you do see a lot of really, really great qualities that fit into some of the things that we ask our quarterbacks to do. I think Kyler's an accurate player. I think he's really learned to play with very, very solid fundamentals in the pass game. I think his ability and just experience playing from an NFL pocket has proven to be something where he can make all the throws."
Murray can be special, and no one has denied it.
O'Connell, March 12: "With Kyler, the ability to make a lot of throws in the pocket is absolutely paired with the ability to be a real weapon with his athleticism, his quickness, his ability to not only attack the line of scrimmage as a runner, but maintaining the ability to create some throwing opportunities off schedule and hopefully be a challenge for the way we're defended."
The Vikings have not given up on McCarthy ...
O'Connell, Jan. 13: "J.J. McCarthy is a guy that wants to be great. I know he's going to work tirelessly to do that. I know his teammates have a lot of confidence in what he's going to go to work to improve on this offseason and come back and have a great offseason and be ready to hit the ground running in 2026. But I think a deep and talented quarterback room will only enhance his ability to do that, and I look forward to being a part of that process."
Brzezinski, Feb. 23: "I can tell you we have a ton of confidence in J.J. McCarthy. He's been through a lot of adversity. And guess what? This is a really, really hard job with a lot of pressure. In our organization, and with our history, everybody's yearning for that young franchise quarterback. And if I can be candid, I'm not sure that it's fair all the time. ... I can tell you he's a fabulous person. He cares. He works really hard. He wants to be successful, and he wants to win. And so I can tell you, however J.J. McCarthy's career ends up, he's going to maximize what's in that body and what his potential is."
... but acknowledge the impact of McCarthy's slow development.
(When McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to his rookie season, O'Connell said he had seen enough in training camp to believe McCarthy was the Vikings' future franchise quarterback.)
O'Connell, Feb. 23: "When I said that in 2024, when he got injured, the point I was making at the time was based upon the strong training camp he had had -- seeing him progress through the learning phase of acquiring him and going through the offseason program and then introducing him into that competitive phase of training camp, which it was a competitive camp with what has turned out to be a really good player [Sam Darnold] at the position.
"I felt confident at that time saying [McCarthy] had demonstrated a lot of those things. That we could feel that progression to becoming [a franchise QB], which is what you do when you try to draft a guy inevitably in the first round of a draft. A lot of those feelings are still the same. It's just the timeline is in a different place for all of us than it was at that point."
While Murray is the strong favorite to win the job, it would be surprising if there isn't a split of practice reps.
O'Connell, March 12: "Throughout the offseason program, I like to call it that 'learning phase' and 'teaching phase,' where we're really trying to home in on the details, teach how to do things, teach why we do things, so our players have that ownership -- at all positions and not just the quarterback position. So, as we approach training camp and we have a clear vision of how we want to best maximize those reps, maybe we'll have some clarity. And at that point, we're still going to want to make sure that all of those guys are in a situation where they can keep ascending."
Wentz is best viewed as insurance.
(Neither O'Connell nor Brzezinski have talked about Wentz's return, but previous comments foretold the arrival of a formidable veteran backup who could run the offense well if the starter is injured.)
O'Connell, Feb. 23: "In 2022 and 2024, we played one guy, and we won 13 games and 14 games. The other two years, we've gone 7-10 and 9-8, and I believe we played six other additional players during that time. So, when our quarterback position, at least from an availability standpoint -- and also production and a consistency factor of that guy doing his job at a baseline level that allows the rest of our offense and team to play to a certain way -- we've won quite a few games.
"And that's where we've got to take all the experience that we've had up until this point and understand: What's the best way to put together that room, our team and inevitably continue to ascend?"
Brzezinski, Feb. 23: "What we do know is we need a level of baseline quarterback play for us to be effective."
O'Connell, March 12: "We're always looking for any players in any positions that we can accomplish the goals ... of being the most competitive team while also having a mindset on the future, as well."
ESPN
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