The span between minicamp and training camp is a trying time for football fans. The lack of action turns social media into more of a wasteland than it already was, with fans looking to gain an early advantage for their preseason debates. Chief among them is whether Kyler Murray will usurp J.J. McCarthy as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback.
For many fans, that means deep diving into the upcoming quarterback competition. Many are hoping that Murray will take the starting job and never give it back. Others are wishing that McCarthy will reclaim his role as the quarterback of the future, and that we can all pretend this whole competition never happened.
It’s a situation that has led to some pointed words on social media. But whether he wins the competition or not, McCarthy may have become the Vikings’ new version of Kirk Cousins.
To Cousins fans, this seems preposterous. Cousins was a model of consistency during his time with the Vikings. Over his six seasons in Minnesota, he threw for 30 or more touchdowns three times and over 4,000 yards four times. He was so consistent that he essentially held the Vikings hostage through a series of fully guaranteed contracts, and some begged for him to come back when it became clear the Vikings were looking for competition this winter.
McCarthy was anything but consistent in his first year as a starter. At times, his passes threatened fans in the upper deck. Justin Jefferson went from the best receiver in the NFL to a ticking time bomb with McCarthy under center.
Both quarterbacks are also cringy to a degree. But while Cousins is the dad joke kind of cringe that makes him likable, McCarthy’s cringe is like the kid down the street you want to see wipe out on his skateboard while trying to go viral.
Still, the biggest thing they share is an unwavering legion of loyal fans.
That helped Cousins become one of the most polarizing Vikings of all time during his time in Minnesota. When things went wrong, his fans were ready to point fingers elsewhere.
It wasn’t Cousins’ hefty guaranteed contract that prevented the Vikings from being a championship team. It was Rick Spielman’s failure to build around him. When Cooper Rush upset the Vikings in 2021 because Cousins refused to call a timeout, it put Mike Zimmer’s job on the line. Cousins’ fans blamed his infamous checkdown late in the 2022 NFC Wild Card loss to the New York Giants on a poor play-call by Kevin O’Connell.
His fans would dig up the most random stat you’ve never heard of to prove they’re right. Did you know that Cousins has a perfect passer rating when he spends $50 in Kohl’s Cash and plays the Detroit Lions at noon indoors when the moon is blood red, and the planets in the Grimlap system are ready to align? You do now, and it probably came from a shirtless Vikings fan wearing nothing but a big chain and a padlock he bought at Menards.
Perhaps I made up that stat on the fly. (SPOILER: It totally was). But it’s the same refrain you hear about McCarthy as he prepares for the biggest competition of his life. McCarthy’s 72.6 passer rating through his first 10 starts is eerily similar to Christian Ponder‘s 70.1 rating during his rookie season in 2011. But his biggest fans will be quick to remind you that it wasn’t his fault.
McCarthy was injured (not soft-benched!) after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 2. Before that happened, he looked completely overwhelmed behind a leaky offensive line. When he returned, he saw O’Connell gush over Max Brosmer and spent the rest of the year complaining about fundamentals before finally adjusting his offense when the team was 4-8.
McCarthy’s supporting cast also let him down. Jordan Addison couldn’t catch a cold last year. Jefferson was so far from his 2022 form, he had to get a tattoo to remind himself of it last offseason. T.J. Hockenson saw Kerby Joseph in his sleep. And that offensive line? Yikes.
All of this has McCarthy’s fans convinced that he’ll go somewhere and stick it to them. They saw what Sam Darnold did when he left for the Seattle Seahawks. If the Vikings kick McCarthy to the curb this summer, they believe he’ll do the same thing in a more supportive environment.
You could make the same arguments for Murray, who was trapped inside a true hellscape organization with Jonathan Gannon and the Arizona Cardinals. But there’s an added edge because McCarthy was the quarterback who was supposed to be better than Cousins.
In some ways, those Cousins fans have shifted over to McCarthy. They sarcastically cheer him on like Terry Hoitz teaching himself how to dance to make fun of the kid down the street. But many see a quarterback who has a lot to prove, just like Cousins did when he cashed in those massive checks with one playoff win to show for it.
Maybe McCarthy’s fans will be right in the long run. But until then, McCarthy may have to play closer to the actual Kirk Cousins to extend his time in Minnesota.
