Get ready for more of this until a starter is named
It's just the way its going to be (got to be) at this stage of the off-season...
I also wonder if Frank Smith will be one of those under the radar coaching hires that can make an impact?
================================
PHOENIX – An air of satisfaction hung over Vikings brass early this week at the NFL’s annual league meeting.
That’s deserved, at least for now. In the month since the last league-wide gathering, the NFL scouting combine, they achieved exactly what they said they wanted to at the quarterback position, even with salary cap constraints: build a competitive room from which a bona fide, 17-game starter can emerge.
In March, they added Kyler Murray the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, at a league minimum price tag. And they re-signed veteran Carson Wentz, who was the fill-in starter last season until injured.
The Vikings say they still believe in developing youngsters J.J. McCarthy, who ran the team at the start of the 2025 season, and Max Brosmer, who was thrown into the fire as an undrafted free-agent rookie.
“That blend is going to be great in the room,” Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf said Monday, March 30. “Both experience and development, and talent on all fronts. It’s a great situation to have, and we’re going to come out a lot better for it.”
The Vikings would prefer, as coach Kevin O’Connell has said more than once, to have to start only one quarterback in a season instead of three or four. After a cheeky comment following Murray’s signing that a starter didn’t need to be named in March, O’Connell said Monday that it’s too early to even begin thinking about how reps are divided in the lead-up to the season.
His approach in the next phase of the calendar, organized team activities starting in late May, centers on “learning and teaching.”
O’Connell said he expects OTAs will include the full group of receivers, including Justin Jefferson, who had a voice in the quarterback discussions this offseason as the Vikings’ franchise player. Jefferson attended OTAs in full last year, too, as the Vikings looked to build his chemistry with McCarthy.
Getting every quarterback a high amount of reps with every member of that receiving group and the rest of the offense is more important to O’Connell than funneling them all to a potential No. 1.
“You can’t go into it with a mindset of trying to elevate your quarterback room and get as many talented players as you can in there and then start carving out the reps in March,” O’Connell said. “It really doesn’t work like that.”
It helps, then, that the four QBs are already spending time in Minnesota working together and establishing rapport.
Murray, whose signing last month comes after seven years living in Arizona while with the Cardinals, is in town a few days a week. The two-time Pro Bowl choice and former Heisman Trophy winner is the presumed 2026 starter. It’s hard to imagine the outcome any other way, with the Cardinals paying the bulk of his $36.8 million salary (the Vikings are paying him the league minimum $1.3 million) after he chose Minnesota as the place to try to rejuvenate his career.
The one obstacle could be Murray struggling to pick up O’Connell’s scheme, though that seems unlikely, too. The 28-year-old’s football IQ and recall have been lauded by members of the organization. Additionally, O’Connell seems open to adapting his offense to fit some of Murray’s skill set and previous experience, particularly as an elusive runner.
The Vikings coach also brought in Frank Smith as assistant head coach ahead of Murray’s signing to help adapt the Vikings’ running game and evolve the overall offense.
“I see a lot of ways that we’ll be able to continue the evolution of our offense here in Year 5, but at the same time, principles that I believe Kyler will be able to not only make his own but provide different layers to what we do with some of his experiences,” O’Connell said.
McCarthy, meanwhile, returned recently from training in Southern California with former NFL QB and 3DQB trainer John Beck. O’Connell said he believes McCarthy gained “perspective” through his 10 starts last season, but the Vikings would still like to see a level of consistency from McCarthy on and off the field that they didn’t quite get in 2025.
That is as much a reason for their building out of the quarterback room as anything else: giving McCarthy room to develop and ample resources to help him do so.
The Vikings seem to have a better plan in place than they did before last season, although Wentz is recovering from a season-ending shoulder injury.
Does Murray have the smarts and talent to be the key to the Vikings’ first playoff win five years into O’Connell’s tenure?
“We feel really good about the combination of depth, talent and the fact that we’ve got a room that’s going to push each other,” O’Connell said. “All those guys are gonna have great offseasons and be ready to rock and roll.”
Strib
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
You raise some good points and consistently...
I personally believe JJ can still get developed and will grow this season. As much as playing? Nope
Not to beat a dead horse, but would u have passed on Murray this year under the circumstances?
If I was committed to developing a young QB and I said famously 'organizations fail QBs', yeah I would have gone a different route. But this is why I keep saying this and some think I'm being 'extreme' but the only thing that makes sense is he's given up on McCarthy. Or KOC's a liar and doesn't have the fortitude, one or the other.
I'm a KOC fan so my hard inclination is that he's given up on McCarthy. Its why I keep saying that. I've also said Murray might rock the shit out of it, I hope he does.
StickierBuns wrote:
If I was committed to developing a young QB and I said famously 'organizations fail QBs', yeah I would have gone a different route. But this is why I keep saying this and some think I'm being 'extreme' but the only thing that makes sense is he's given up on McCarthy. Or KOC's a liar and doesn't have the fortitude, one or the other.
I'm a KOC fan so my hard inclination is that he's given up on McCarthy. Its why I keep saying that. I've also said Murray might rock the shit out of it, I hope he does.
Well you know I'm not really a KOC fan but I could play devil's advocate and say if he's really the QB whisperer (or lisperer? ;) ) then maybe he knows JJM doesn't have a future, just like his buddy Shanahan knew Trey Lance, who cost the Niners way more draft capital than JJM cost us, was done after 4 NFL starts.
Like I said, the faster you move off of a mistake the better.
purplefaithful wrote:
Maybe they dont think JJM is ready to start yet? They havent been able to work with him at all yet.
Just spit balling here.
No, I dont think JJM will beat KM out in whatever feats of strength they'll conjure up this Spring/Summer...
It's not a fair fight between the 2. And I'm already looking forward to seeing what KM does here with this staff and surround. That said, it wouldnt surprise me if McCarthy does get a chance to play this season and I hope to hell he does well if given that chance.
As much as some of us want QB behind Curtain A or Curtain B, the reality is having them both perform well would be a nice problem for the Vikings to have at year end.
Either way, lets just win and lets end this decades long QB carousel with one of these 2 guys.
A fan can dream....
that's the way I see it. JJ isn't ready and KOC isn't going to risk his job on JJ at this point in time, when a QB who has proven he can be a starter in the NFL is available for peanuts. If Murray sucks, KOC can move off of him and play JJ without consequence. If JJ is the starter, and does not improve, while not taking advantage of Murray's availability, would be right up there with not sticking with Darnold in the organizational bad decision making realm.
The Wilf's and KOC aren't giving up on JJ. They are hedging their bets.
I can see a future for JJ as the franchise QB for the Vikings. But I'm a Vikings fan first and what they are doing makes sense.
Good post.
comet52 wrote:
Well you know I'm not really a KOC fan but I could play devil's advocate and say if he's really the QB whisperer (or lisperer? ;) ) then maybe he knows JJM doesn't have a future, just like his buddy Shanahan knew Trey Lance, who cost the Niners way more draft capital than JJM cost us, was done after 4 NFL starts.
Like I said, the faster you move off of a mistake the better.
Whatever he knows, he knows more than any of us. We see an incomplete pass. It happens. He sees a 1 ball that should've been a 2 ball. He sees a ball thrown to the 2nd window when, based on where the safety was, should've been thrown to the 1st window. He sees a 5-step drop that should've changed to a 3-step based on pre-snap reads., etc, etc.
Gut feeling is that if one QB looks noticeably better in camp, I don’t think KOC is going to shut that down and go with the preconceived notions he had in April. I still think that Murray probably has the inside track, just as his level historically is above the other two’s historical levels.
StickierBuns wrote:
That's my point. If you believe in KOC, then you have to believe in his assessment of McCarthy. But KOC also very much believed in Anthony Richardson supposedly, so....mistakes can be made in player evaluations.
This AND you can't tell me KOC didn't have a big hand in drafting McCarthy. So what changed from then till now?
StickierBuns wrote:
That's my point. If you believe in KOC, then you have to believe in his assessment of McCarthy. But KOC also very much believed in Anthony Richardson supposedly, so....mistakes can be made in player evaluations.
Maybe he believed in AR or maybe people are reading too much into him treating AR in a friendly manner. He seems to want to foster good relationships with every young QB he meets. Not a bad thing but it doesn't necessarily tell us what his eval of them is. He probably would have been nice to Will Levis too but he passed on him in the draft when he had the chance.
MaroonBells wrote:
Whatever he knows, he knows more than any of us. We see an incomplete pass. It happens. He sees a 1 ball that should've been a 2 ball. He sees a ball thrown to the 2nd window when, based on where the safety was, should've been thrown to the 1st window. He sees a 5-step drop that should've changed to a 3-step based on pre-snap reads., etc, etc.
We know that he also knows that we don't know what he knows. ;)
StickierBuns wrote:
I'd bet money McCarthy looks great early in camp. It won't matter. They didn't sign Murray to not have him start out as QB1.
Vikesrock wrote:
So what changed from then till now?
Yes, unless something catastrophic happens in TC, KM is going to start the season as QB1. I also agree with MB, it's not really a competition at all.
There's a lot of time from when JJM was drafted to today...Namely all the injuries that set him back and the fact he's been plagued with the inability to layer passes, poor accuracy & poor mechanics.
To his credit, it sounds like he's putting in the grind to work on those this off-season. But it's all still a (big) question mark today and HE needs to prove he's no longer the QB with a 35.6 QBR.
The onus is on him. There is just way too much at stake for there to be a benefit of the doubt on this.
I dont blame the Vikings org at all for hedging their bet with JJM. He didn't leave them with a choice did he?
Not with a win now locker room and their interests also at stake.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
This isn't real, is it?
Jack Hughes and #Vikings QB JJ McCarthy tossing around a baseball prior to today’s Yankees home opener. pic.twitter.com/qm1xQ9iFf3
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) April 3, 2026
Well you know I'm not really a KOC fan but I could play devil's advocate and say if [b]he's really the QB whisperer (or lisperer? ;) ) then maybe he knows JJM doesn't have a future[/b], just like his buddy Shanahan knew Trey Lance, who cost the Niners way more draft capital than JJM cost us, was done after 4 NFL starts.
That's my point. If you believe in KOC, then you have to believe in his assessment of McCarthy. But KOC also very much believed in Anthony Richardson supposedly, so....mistakes can be made in player evaluations.
Gut feeling is that if one QB looks noticeably better in camp, I don’t think KOC is going to shut that down and go with the preconceived notions he had in April. I still think that Murray probably has the inside track, just as his level historically is above the other two’s historical levels.
I'd bet money McCarthy looks great early in camp. It won't matter. They didn't sign Murray to not have him start out as QB1.
This AND you can't tell me KOC didn't have a big hand in drafting McCarthy. So what changed from then till now?
0.0% chance KAM didn't take 100% direction from KOC on this.
StickierBuns wrote:
Its real.'The Vikings quarterback, 23, made a cameo appearance Friday at Yankee Stadium for the Bombers’ home opener against the Marlins in support of Devils star and Olympic hero Jack Hughes, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, along with goaltender Aerin Frankel, who won gold in Milan with the women’s team.
McCarthy became friends with Hughes’ younger brother and Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, 22, while attending the University of Michigan, according to NBC’s Bruce Beck, who shared an Instagram snap with the quarterback.'
Yep, and McCarthy being a hockey guy, I imagine he was thrilled, like most hockey fans and some Americans, to watch the men and women win Gold recently that celebrating and spending time with his friend(s) and fellow AMERICAN hockey guys was a logical thing.
I assume, MB, that your question was just rhetorical and a joke and JR you are just throwing fuel on the fire with those dumb comments (and your continued hatred for McCarthy)...maybe you both should start rumors about McCarthy being courted by the Jets or Giants as that would be more believable.
I had to watch that video clip a couple times cause it didnt look like McCarthy to me at all at first...
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
IceRatz16 wrote:
Yep, and McCarthy being a hockey guy, I imagine he was thrilled, like most hockey fans and some Americans, to watch the men and women win Gold recently that celebrating and spending time with his friend(s) and fellow AMERICAN hockey guys was a logical thing.
I assume, MB, that your question was just rhetorical and a joke and JR you are just throwing fuel on the fire with those dumb comments (and your continued hatred for McCarthy)...maybe you both should start rumors about McCarthy being courted by the Jets or Giants as that would be more believable.
I can't speak for JR, but if you've read anything i've written in the last two years, you know that I am in no way a McCarthy hater. The reason I found that video a little disturbing was because JJ looked thin to me. And that scares me a little bit. Now, I don't want to pile on the kid, because there's no shortage of JJ hate. But I'm also a big believer in not avoiding the truth, no matter where it might lead. And the truth is that he looks thin. Is it just me? I dunno, maybe. But I was hoping he'd come to camp a thicker, more muscular 225.
Now, maybe it's the angle, maybe it's the clothes, because I think the other kid is supposed to be a hockey player of some kind, and he looks just as fragile, so maybe it's nothing.
MaroonBells wrote:
I can't speak for JR, but if you've read anything i've written in the last two years, you know that I am in no way a McCarthy hater. The reason I found that video a little disturbing was because JJ looked thin to me. And that scares me a little bit. Now, I don't want to pile on the kid, because there's no shortage of JJ hate. But I'm also a big believer in not avoiding the truth, no matter where it might lead. And the truth is that he looks thin. Is it just me? I dunno, maybe. But I was hoping he'd come to camp a thicker, more muscular 225.
Now, maybe it's the angle, maybe it's the clothes, because I think the other kid is supposed to be a hockey player of some kind, and he looks just as fragile, so maybe it's nothing.
I would like him to have gotten to camp at about 220+ Not sure he's there yet, but not obsessing about it.
Him being healthy and able to compete is good enough for me today and probably a big step ahead of last year.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
MaroonBells wrote:
I can't speak for JR, but if you've read anything i've written in the last two years, you know that I am in no way a McCarthy hater. The reason I found that video a little disturbing was because JJ looked thin to me. And that scares me a little bit. Now, I don't want to pile on the kid, because there's no shortage of JJ hate. But I'm also a big believer in not avoiding the truth, no matter where it might lead. And the truth is that he looks thin. Is it just me? I dunno, maybe. But I was hoping he'd come to camp a thicker, more muscular 225.
Now, maybe it's the angle, maybe it's the clothes, because I think the other kid is supposed to be a hockey player of some kind, and he looks just as fragile, so maybe it's nothing.
I didn't believe you are a McCarthy-hater, but to continue to complain about the kid's weight is truly baffling to me.
It's like a bunch of catty girls whining about another girls' appearance.
I don't think I've ever seen this before on Vikings' fan boards where a guy was so picked apart on appearance and maturity than JJ McCarthy and it continues to blow my mind...
Its real.
'The Vikings quarterback, 23, made a cameo appearance Friday at Yankee Stadium for the Bombers’ home opener against the Marlins in support of Devils star and Olympic hero Jack Hughes, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, along with goaltender Aerin Frankel, who won gold in Milan with the women’s team.
McCarthy became friends with Hughes’ younger brother and Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, 22, while attending the University of Michigan, according to NBC’s Bruce Beck, who shared an Instagram snap with the quarterback.'
[img]https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xhIEoFmb8ypPWz0sCKSZBg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_ny_post_sports_articles_402/c00d69f897e78480b6e9ff748c8dde0c[/img]
Why all the angst?
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and quit being PO'd.
Hell, this isnt politics (thx god) and probably not as devisive as the Pepp discussions back in the day, or Tarvaris...
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
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