The Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy has been one of the biggest discussions of the offseason. However, with OTAs giving way to this week’s mandatory minicamp, there hasn’t been much suspense.
Murray and McCarthy split first-team reps during the opening weeks of the offseason program, but things seemed off after McCarthy’s moody interview with reporters on May 27. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero took things further on KFAN last week, hinting that Murray could seize more first-team reps during minicamp, which could lead to a decision to trade McCarthy before the start of next season.
I don’t know what direction they’re going to go as you get closer to the season, but let’s say Kyler wins the job. … Do you have J.J. as the backup? Do you potentially look to trade him while there’s still some intrigue within the league, and you might be able to get more for him with two years left on his rookie contract than with one year left? Those are all things I think you’re going to talk through.
McCarthy didn’t look like the hand-picked savior of the Vikings when he struggled with injuries and accuracy. It also may not be wise to give up on a 23-year-old former top-10 pick. But the more we learn, the more likely it is that the Vikings will be making a good old-fashioned rage trade that sends McCarthy out of Minnesota.
Anybody who has played fantasy football knows what a rage trade is. Someone drafts a player with high hopes. Then, after a tough week or two, the team’s manager trades him away, concerned that this is who he is for the rest of the season. In most cases, that doesn’t end well for the team trading away that player, because he eventually finds his groove and lives up to expectations.
It’s an easy rage-trade scenario playing out for the Vikings. McCarthy didn’t demonstrate an adequate level of quarterback play to make Minnesota a contender last year, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 games. But he showed signs of life down the stretch, completing 64.3% of his passes for 703 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions over his final four games.
Kevin O’Connell watered down his offense to let McCarthy shine in those final five games. The Vikings also played several teams that were either out of playoff contention or were on their way to planning offseason vacations in the final month of the season, which is why the team appeared to take that with a grain of salt.
But let’s say that reaction to McCarthy’s first year as a starter backfires. The Vikings trade McCarthy, who would be lucky to fetch the Vikings a high Day 3 pick in return, and he gets to step out of the spotlight. He learns, follows the Sam Darnold path, and becomes a functional phoenix quarterback who rises from the ashes of his early career for a team with the infrastructure to win games.
That wouldn’t look good for O’Connell. That would be especially true if Murray goes belly-up in his first year as Minnesota‘s starter, or plays well enough to earn the contract of your favorite “phoenix” quarterback but then turns into a shorter version of Kirk Cousins.
But for a fanbase that thinks of worst-case scenarios and says, Yeah, I could see that happening, there are some reasons to think this time could be different.
McCarthy was bad on the field, but there were also some signs of trouble off of it. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted that McCarthy’s maturity was a big reason things didn’t go the way the Vikings had planned in 2025 and even drove some inside TCO Performance Center to push heavily for Aaron Rodgers during the previous offseason.
There’s also a question about McCarthy’s ceiling. Many are hoping that McCarthy can go the way of Josh Allen or Matthew Stafford, two big-armed quarterbacks who struggled early before becoming two of the NFL’s elite signal callers. Others wonder if McCarthy could be the next Darnold, overcoming a rough start before settling in with a different organization.
But the way McCarthy’s comments went viral represents another problem. Any quarterback of the future is going to be under intense scrutiny. However, for a team that hasn’t had a true franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenton in the 1970s, it’s a full-blown crucible.
Consider McCarthy’s ankle injury, which created the soft-benching conspiracy from anyone with a keyboard and a social media account. McCarthy’s “Nine” comment also exploded on social media, leading to an all-time meme. Comments about concrete drying and theatrics involving a broken hand also became a topic of discussion — and a distraction — throughout a turbulent season.
If those instances were that loud on the outside, it’s interesting to wonder what they’re like in the locker room. Brian O’Neill recently threw his support behind McCarthy. Still, if J.J. is going to be the backup quarterback, O’Connell has to find a way to get them to buy into Murray, who is the heavy favorite to become the starter.
Suppose McCarthy is also going to be brooding behind the scenes instead of the motivated version the Vikings were hoping for. Then, it could become an even bigger distraction, giving O’Connell and new general manager Nolan Teasley a good reason to move on from him.
For a team that is high on Murray and Carson Wentz, and would probably like to see Max Brosmer’s development through, getting rid of McCarthy is starting to become a likely outcome. It could develop into a rage-trade situation. However, the biggest reason to throw in the towel is that, if McCarthy succeeds, it’s unlikely to happen in Minnesota.
Of course, there has to be an element of anger in a rage trade, and the Vikings have a valid argument. They gave McCarthy the keys to the car last season, and he treated it like Jordan Addison drives a rental. His performance wasn’t just bad. It was embarrassing on a Cleveland Browns- or New York Jets-level, which is something this franchise tries to avoid.
That lends credence to throwing in the towel on McCarthy and hoping that it doesn’t come back to haunt them down the line.
