Interesting story on Will Levis

Makes sense. They probably need a veteran QB behind their other developing QB.

His junior year at Kentucky was everything you’d want to see. Josh Allen light. Watched him this weekend and he shows you flashes but is so inconsistent. It’s like his brain short circuits at times. He’s probably going to forever tease.

I was never a Will Levis fan, but agreed with JT that he looked the part one season at Kentucky. That said, I still didn't think he would do well in the NFL unless he had a perfect situation he fell into and Tennessee was definitely not that.

Confidence is an amazing thing and something high functioning athletes typically boarder the line of overconfidence and arrogance. Having a strong support system whether that's your family, friends, coaches, faith, whatever it is, it's incredibly important to build it.

Wasn't he some kind of "Head-Case"?

JustInTime wrote:

His junior year at Kentucky was everything you’d want to see. Josh Allen light. Watched him this weekend and he shows you flashes but is so inconsistent. It’s like his brain short circuits at times. He’s probably going to forever tease.

I liked him too. But how you describe his inconsistency is how you could describe every busted QB the NFL has taken over 50 years. They all had talent, some more than others, but what they couldn't be was consistent. That's going to be on McCarthy's epitaph as well when it's written.

And how do you measure that? It can't be found in size, arm, intelligence, or even IT factor. Just because you're tough and you have a good head on your shoulders doesn't mean you can be consistent.

Next time I hope we at least choose someone who has more experience in a passing offense, someone who has shown passing consistency over time at the college level. Doesn't guarantee anything, but it might give us a better chance.

JustInTime wrote:

His junior year at Kentucky was everything you’d want to see. Josh Allen light. Watched him this weekend and he shows you flashes but is so inconsistent. It’s like his brain short circuits at times. He’s probably going to forever tease.

It's a good observation. The thing that IMO gets people confused about young QB potential is consistency. "Flashing" as it's now referred to is nice but a big difference from QB3 to 2 to 1 is not necessarily talent, but how frequently they make a mistake or bad throw, etc. The errors reduce as you go up the chain.

Even the worst QB busts win games, have nice throws and even drives and can have great physical gifts. Heck Tim Tebow won a playoff game. But they remain inconsistent, with wonky throwing mechanics, mental obstacles, errors, pick sixes, etc. Flashing's got nothing on consistency.

MaroonBells wrote:

I liked him too. But how you describe his inconsistency is how you could describe every busted QB the NFL has taken over 50 years. They all had talent, some more than others, but what they couldn't be was consistent. That's going to be on McCarthy's epitaph as well when it's written.
And how do you measure that? It can't be found in size, arm, intelligence, or even IT factor. Just because you're tough and you have a good head on your shoulders doesn't mean you can be consistent.
Next time I hope we at least choose someone who has more experience in a passing offense, someone who has shown passing consistency over time at the college level. Doesn't guarantee anything, but it might give us a better chance.

comet52 wrote:

It's a good observation. The thing that IMO gets people confused about young QB potential is consistency. "Flashing" as it's now referred to is nice but a big difference from QB3 to 2 to 1 is not necessarily talent, but how frequently they make a mistake or bad throw, etc. The errors reduce as you go up the chain.
Even the worst QB busts win games, have nice throws and even drives and can have great physical gifts. Heck Tim Tebow won a playoff game. But they remain inconsistent, with wonky throwing mechanics, mental obstacles, errors, pick sixes, etc. Flashing's got nothing on consistency.

Thats a lot of past tense MB...Surely you havent tossed the towel in yet?

I posted a piece on how the trajectory of the Vikings changed the day Teddy's leg fell off...Every single one of those QB's in between Teddy and Murray could not provide consistent, high level play. It's the biggest difference in the world between GB and Vikings and it shows in the Lombardi case.

purplefaithful wrote:

Thats a lot of past tense MB...Surely you havent tossed the towel in yet.
I posted a piece on how the trajectory of the Vikings changed the day Teddy's leg fell off...Every single one of those QB's in between Teddy and Murray could not provide consistent, high level play. It's the biggest difference in the world between GB and Vikings and it shows in the Lombardi case.

I think Cousins was a consistent, high-level QB. His achilles combined with his age at the time pressed the fast-forward button on his career.

Have I thrown in the towel on McCarthy? I still think there's a chance he could sit behind someone for a year or two and emerge as a capable starter, but right now it sure doesn't look like that will be in Minnesota. I said the other day that if it were up to me, I'd call him QB2, leave Wentz at QB3 and keep developing the kid. But given what the 53 looks like, I'd be surprised if he's not traded.

I think he could have a Darnold like renaissance as I think he has been stuck in a terribly run organization. I was hoping we would trade for him before we had picked up Murray and while doubtful to happen now, would love to see us sign him.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think Cousins was a consistent, high-level QB. His achilles combined with his age at the time pressed the fast-forward button on his career.
Have I thrown in the towel on McCarthy? I still think there's a chance he could sit behind someone for a year or two and emerge as a capable starter, but right now it sure doesn't look like that will be in Minnesota. I said the other day that if it were up to me, I'd call him QB2, leave Wentz at QB3 and keep developing the kid. But given what the 53 looks like, I'd be surprised if he's not traded.

I may get some apples tossed at me really hard by some, but I would name him Qb2 and hope he shines out this year when/if given the opportunity.

Nobody is going to give up jack squat for McCarthy right now.

MaroonBells wrote:

I liked him too. But how you describe his inconsistency is how you could describe every busted QB the NFL has taken over 50 years. They all had talent, some more than others, but what they couldn't be was consistent. That's going to be on McCarthy's epitaph as well when it's written.
And how do you measure that? It can't be found in size, arm, intelligence, or even IT factor. Just because you're tough and you have a good head on your shoulders doesn't mean you can be consistent.
Next time I hope we at least choose someone who has more experience in a passing offense, someone who has shown passing consistency over time at the college level. Doesn't guarantee anything, but it might give us a better chance.

I didn't want to be the one who initiated the Levis/McCarthy parallels, but since the comparison is out there, I'll jump in. 😂

I have noticed some very similar issues with McCarthy this offseason, particularly the confidence piece. Consistency won't be there immediately when he's trying to make changes to his form, mechanics, etc. He just doesn't seem to be playing with the same confidence we've seen from him previously. I'm not sure if that's a result of Murray coming in, the adjustments he's been asked to make, the coaching relationship, losing some of the routines that helped him get into his "zone," or simply everything that's happened to him since entering the league. But something definitely seems different.

The big difference between McCarthy and Levis, IMO, is the winning mindset and sustained success McCarthy has had throughout his career. That doesn't guarantee anything in the NFL, obviously, but winning breeds confidence and creates an expectation that you're going to find a way to succeed. McCarthy hasn't had the opportunity to build much of that confidence at the NFL level because virtually nothing has gone according to plan since he was drafted.

And that's where I think a change of scenery could actually be beneficial for him if the Vikings ultimately move on. Levis might benefit from the same thing, but I'm not convinced he's going to become a long-term NFL starter. With McCarthy, however, I could absolutely see him benefiting from going somewhere that isn't trying to win right now and is willing to give a young QB time, reps and room to fail while he develops.

Maybe McCarthy simply isn't the guy. That's certainly possible. But I don't think we've seen enough of him in a normal developmental environment to confidently say we've seen the best version of him either.

I think Murray isn’t the starter because he ran away with the starting job, but more that the competition wasn’t that high. I think if Murray was crushing everything, you could see a world where we know we have a future starter here with Murray, and keep Brosmer or Mullens as an emergency QB or something.

I think right now, the team has to have some part of the plan be what to do in 2027 if Murray isn’t the guy. Wentz isn’t the guy for sure. I feel like the fan reaction is that JJM is toast and some people have suggested that insiders think he’s toast. I don’t know if that’s the vibe I’m getting from the team. The other options people are throwing out there all look just as bad as JJM or are pure backups. For me, I kind of think JJM is like a golfer in the middle of fixing his swing and it just isn’t fully set yet and he’s trying to learn while learning defenses. He’s clearly in a bad place now. He’s an emotional guy that hasn’t been taking the demotion well, but I think there’s a potential path forward, where he settles down, accepts the reality of his situation and starts to solidify things watching Murray play.

I just don’t see what the point of bringing in a different guy that doesn’t know the system at this point. If you have some percentage of possibility for JJM growing out of this funk he’s been in, I’d keep him on the team. I think Mullens is a compelling idea, as he played loose and productive in this scheme, but I’d probably think that you could bring him in midseason if need be.

IceRatz16 wrote:

I didn't want to be the one who initiated the Levis/McCarthy parallels, but since the comparison is out there, I'll jump in. 😂
I have noticed some very similar issues with McCarthy this offseason, particularly the confidence piece. Consistency won't be there immediately when he's trying to make changes to his form, mechanics, etc. He just doesn't seem to be playing with the same confidence we've seen from him previously. I'm not sure if that's a result of Murray coming in, the adjustments he's been asked to make, the coaching relationship, losing some of the routines that helped him get into his "zone," or simply everything that's happened to him since entering the league. But something definitely seems different.
The big difference between McCarthy and Levis, IMO, is the winning mindset and sustained success McCarthy has had throughout his career. That doesn't guarantee anything in the NFL, obviously, but winning breeds confidence and creates an expectation that you're going to find a way to succeed. McCarthy hasn't had the opportunity to build much of that confidence at the NFL level because virtually nothing has gone according to plan since he was drafted.
And that's where I think a change of scenery could actually be beneficial for him if the Vikings ultimately move on. Levis might benefit from the same thing, but I'm not convinced he's going to become a long-term NFL starter. With McCarthy, however, I could absolutely see him benefiting from going somewhere that isn't trying to win right now and is willing to give a young QB time, reps and room to fail while he develops.
Maybe McCarthy simply isn't the guy. That's certainly possible. But I don't think we've seen enough of him in a normal developmental environment to confidently say we've seen the best version of him either.

I can imagine that facing Flores’s defense in practice every day would do something to a young QBs confidence.  I can also imagine if you spent most practices just trying to survive Flores’s chaos defense, that it wouldn’t provide you with a lot of practice against more common defensive schemes.

IceRatz16 wrote:

Maybe McCarthy simply isn't the guy. That's certainly possible. But I don't think we've seen enough of him in a normal developmental environment to confidently say we've seen the best version of him either.

This is what got me from Point A to Point B....the consideration that if the Vikings, KOC, etc. aren't investing time, reps and resources into JJ, then maybe he isn't who I thought he would be. Reading the room, per se....not X, not the media, certainly not fans, but the organization itself. What are they doing? How are they acting? This is why I always ask this simple question: does it feel like the Vikings are interested in JJM as the franchise QB? Because I'm not getting that vibe. Maybe some people that are way closer to it than I (KOC, McCown, Teasley) feel they've seen enough. Doesn't matter what I think. 🤔

Former Titans QB Will Levis went unclaimed on waivers.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2026

StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/2094483536292032889?s=20

I do find this slightly surprising. Can he sign now to be on a teams practice squad?

Kmerry82 wrote:

I do find this slightly surprising. Can he sign now to be on a teams practice squad?

yes, he is a free agent and as such able to sign with any suitor he finds.

StickierBuns wrote:

This is what got me from Point A to Point B....the consideration that if the Vikings, KOC, etc. aren't investing time, reps and resources into JJ, then maybe he isn't who I thought he would be. Reading the room, per se....not X, not the media, certainly not fans, but the organization itself. What are they doing? How are they acting? This is why I always ask this simple question: does it feel like the Vikings are interested in JJM as the franchise QB? Because I'm not getting that vibe. Maybe some people that are way closer to it than I (KOC, McCown, Teasley) feel they've seen enough. Doesn't matter what I think. 🤔

What do you mean they aren’t investing time/reps in JJM?  We just got done with half the people complaining that the team was investing too much time/reps in JJM and that Kyler wasn’t going to be ready because of that.

medaille wrote:

What do you mean they aren’t investing time/reps in JJM?  We just got done with half the people complaining that the team was investing too much time/reps in JJM and that Kyler wasn’t going to be ready because of that.

Well now you are talking about the 'competition'....which it never was. And it was the shortest competition time-wise in NFL history. That's not any kind of investment nor a competition. K1 was QB1 the day he signed in Minnesota, that shouldn't be news to anyone.

StickierBuns wrote:

Well now you are talking about the 'competition'....which it never was. And it was the shortest competition time-wise in NFL history. That's not any kind of investment nor a competition. K1 was QB1 the day he signed in Minnesota, that shouldn't be news to anyone.