The Athletic: What's next for JJ McCarthy?

[purplefaithful]

He's maneuvered the one guy who could try to force the team to try JJM for another year out the door and essentially taken control of the org.

I think you are severely under-estimating The Brez...

[comet52]

I think you are severely under-estimating The Brez...

He's a numbers guy not football.  He has no say in who starts at QB.  He's basically there to give the Wilfs cost control.

[medaille]

So here's what a buddy of mine always says....'would you put a $100 on it?'. Anyone willing to do that saying JJM will be QB1?

Not asking anyone to bet, just saying putting it thru that prism adds a little clarity IMO.

I think you could go the other way too.

Would you bet $100 that Murray is the starting QB for the Vikings in 2027?

Like, I think there's so many things that have to go right for that to happen.  Can he stay healthy enough to invest in?  Will KOC adjust his scheme to maximize KM or is he going to ask the guys who's known as a bad deep ball thrower to throw deep every play?  Will JJM not develop enough to make it a contested decision?

I certainly wouldn't bet too much money on him being the 2027 starter.

I think the thing is, we have two reclamation projects at QB.  I don't think we really need to be locking in on which guy sucks too much to be an option.

[CFIAvike]

I think you could go the other way too.

Would you bet $100 that Murray is the starting QB for the Vikings in 2027?

Like, I think there's so many things that have to go right for that to happen.  Can he stay healthy enough to invest in?  Will KOC adjust his scheme to maximize KM or is he going to ask the guys who's known as a bad deep ball thrower to throw deep every play?  Will JJM not develop enough to make it a contested decision?

I certainly wouldn't bet too much money on him being the 2027 starter.

I think the thing is, we have two reclamation projects at QB.  I don't think we really need to be locking in on which guy sucks too much to be an option.

I’d absolutely bet $100 on him being the starter in 2027. There are only 2 scenarios I see that can prevent that. 1.. he sucks and 2.. Catastrophic injury

As much as I dislike this move, I’d be lying to myself if I thought he was going to completely suck. If he does remain relatively healthy I think you’re going to see a QB that the Vikings will have to re-sign to avoid another potential Darnold scenario. 

I think this $1.5 million dollar contract thing is creating misconceptions about the Vikings intentions here. I STILL think the Vikings would have moved to sign Kyler even if the Cards weren’t picking up the tab this year. It just would have been a 3yr/$100 mil kinda deal. Whether you choose to see it now or not, the Vikings have moved onto Kyler Murray for, at least the next 3-4 years.

[JimmyinSD]

Can I ask why you think this?   Darrisaw will be healthy and Oneill also.  Jackson has looked legit at LG.

We can bring in FA Centers like Mays or Biadasz if Brandel or Jurgens are not looking solid.  Or draft one.

Fries is a problem.  Granted Kelly was out a lot.  But he underperformed pretty bad coming in as the 41st our of 79 eligible guards... And were locked into a 5 years 88 Million contract with him.  He needs to massively improve this year...

So I feel pretty comfy with that OL especially with a scrambling QB.  If we had a pocket passer I would be more concerned.

---

This x 10.  We spent soooo much money on Kelly, Fries, Hargrave and Allen and none of them did jack shit.  And were stuck with Fries for 4 more years.  3 of the 4 are gone now...  

My biggest concern is the Darnold experience is going to lead us into massively overpaying a frequently injured QB (KM) if he just gets 10 wins due to fear of a Darnold 2.0 moment.

I said that as in that will be the excuse given for when Murray doesnt light it up.  the cheer leaders will blame the OL... even though it will largely be because of the style of QB that Murray is and has been showing for a few years now.   I actually like our OL,  I think Brandel can fill the C position nicely given enough reps to get comfortable there.  Biadasz signed last week with Chargers,  I do think we need to look at a day 2 or early 3 pick on the IOL again,  and I would like to see them look to find another OT to back up and eventually replace ONeill,  or sooner if CD doesnt round back into form.

[MaroonBells]

It's all bullshit. McCarthy has been a winner the entirety of his football career, won the National Championship at Michigan under Harbaugh, but once he gets to Minnesota all of a sudden "can't handle the spotlight?" That doesn't pass the sniff test at all. Plus Jefferson is clearly the "face of the franchise" and McCarthy was never asked to be. 

The reality is this is a young kid who suffered a significant knee injury that completely derailed a crucial rookie season. It's been widely reported that OConnell and the coaching staff essentially just let him "sit in the corner" as an afterthought during his recovery and did the minimum with him as far as prepping him on a complex offensive systen. There were a lot of terrible quarterback decisions made by OConnell and the decision to not play McCarthy at all in the preseason was one of the worst. McCarthy goes into the 2025 season ill-prepared after sitting out an entire rookie season and not playing any meaningful snaps of football. He spends the entirety of the year bouncing between injury and trying to play catch up in a difficult scheme that did him no favors. 

I'm just tired of people/pundits shitting on McCarthy when OConnell's mishandling of the entire quarterback room was really the story. I'll tell you one thing, this organization should never again trust "the whisperer" in the development of young quarterback.  "Organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations" huh, Kevin? Well let me tell you, you just screwed the first young quarterback that was ever left in your care to develope in epic fashion.

You're jumping to a lot of conclusions here. JJ's injuries likely had a lot more to do with his lack of development than some bizarre notion that he was forced to "sit in the corner," no matter how, um, "widely reported" that was. Just like the initial assumptions you and others made about Murray being benched for Brissett, we didn't know what happened there or why. 

Let's not forget one thing that concerned me and some others that year: JJ lost 25-30 lbs, going from 219 to the "high 180s" according to one report. That's insane. When he showed up on the sidelines in street clothes after the surgery looking more like pre-Super Soldier Serum Steve Rogers than Capt. America, it was alarming. None of us knows why that happened. Some speculated that it was prescribed, which is ridiculous IMO. Some say it was due to missing lower body workouts. Lizzo notwithstanding, not many people have 30 lbs in their butt and thighs to gain or lose. 

I think eventually we will find out, and it wouldn't surprise me if whatever caused that weight loss is what caused KOC to warn KAM that he was not ready (assuming that's even true), and maybe even why some insiders were concerned that he was "challenged...by some of the more elemental aspects of being the face of a franchise." 

Many assume being the face of a franchise is just about being good in front of the camera or avoiding late nights on 1st Ave. It's also about doing what is necessary to improve, including keeping your mind and body sharp.

[MAD GAINZ]

You're jumping to a lot of conclusions here. JJ's injuries likely had a lot more to do with his lack of development than some bizarre notion that he was forced to "sit in the corner," no matter how, um, "widely reported" that was. Just like the initial assumptions you and others made about Murray being benched for Brissett, we didn't know what happened there or why. 

Let's not forget one thing that concerned me and some others that year: JJ lost 25-30 lbs, going from 219 to the "high 180s" according to one report. That's insane. When he showed up on the sidelines in street clothes after the surgery looking more like pre-Super Soldier Serum Steve Rogers than Capt. America, it was alarming. None of us knows why that happened. Some speculated that it was prescribed, which is ridiculous IMO. Some say it was due to missing lower body workouts. Lizzo notwithstanding, not many people have 30 lbs in their butt and thighs to gain or lose. 

I think eventually we will find out, and it wouldn't surprise me if whatever caused that weight loss is what caused KOC to warn KAM that he was not ready (assuming that's even true), and maybe even why some insiders were concerned that he was "challenged...by some of the more elemental aspects of being the face of a franchise." 

Many assume being the face of a franchise is just about being good in front of the camera or avoiding late nights on 1st Ave. It's also about doing what is necessary to improve, including keeping your mind and body sharp.

You are also jumping to a lot of conclusions here, Maroon.  :-)

Also, regardless of why Murray was benched for Brissett, the Cardinals ate a shitload of money to get rid of him.  THAT is telling in some aspects.  He might turn his fortunes around here because we have a better coaching staff, surround, etc. but it's not the guarantee that some of you are making it out to be.

I just hope if the organization has decided to move on from JJ McCarthy, it works out for us.  I don't agree with that, but I'm not the one coaching the team and don't see him on the regular.  Just seems odd that KOC would be so convicted after his rookie training camp that he was the franchise QB for us and then a season later, it's a lot of the things I liked about him his rookie year are still true...  but...

[purplefaithful]

Many assume being the face of a franchise is just about being good in front of the camera or avoiding late nights on 1st Ave. It's also about doing what is necessary to improve, including keeping your mind and body sharp.

I dont want to pile on a 23 year old kid AND I hope he stays on the rails and can become our QBOTF...I also think he dug himself a bit of a hole to climb out of. 

I believe one of JJ's super-powers failed him last year. And that failure links directly back to what does face of a franchise mean? 

More succinctly, I think he demonstrated lack of emotional maturity and that hurt him in the locker room. 

Just a wild asz theory, but I watched carefully when he was coming back to the sidelines those last 4 games and I didnt see the same kind of fire, player engagement I saw earlier in the year. He looked more isolated. Or maybe my old memory is just failing me lol! 

I dont think taking himself out of GB game helped his cause on that front??? Maybe? Maybe not? 

The whole 9 crap got overblown, but I dont think it helped his cause and it was just weird and kinda embarrassing imo.

Then we have the "insiders" saying how he was doing and saying things in between series with the coach that were never broached during the week? Thats a big no, no. 

Again, just my take...But I really feel like he fell short on maturity and it cost him some tbd amount leadership points internally with coaches and players.

[StickierBuns]

Regardless of what kind of QB play we get or who ends up playing QB1 the most games in 2026, they are going to benefit from better O-line play than in '25. There is no way in hell we can have the amount of injuries we had last year this upcoming year. No way. And I say this without worrying about jinxing it because it was beyond an anomaly how bad it was. So that will bode well for Murray, the run game, etc.

[purplefaithful]

Regardless of what kind of QB play we get or who ends up playing QB1 the most games in 2026, they are going to benefit from better O-line play than in '25. There is no way in hell we can have the amount of injuries we had last year this upcoming year. No way. And I say this without worrying about jinxing it because it was beyond an anomaly how bad it was. So that will bode well for Murray, the run game, etc.

oy...