The biggest tell that the Minnesota Vikings are holding a true quarterback competition is that Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy continue to split practice reps with the starters.
Murray, 28, is the more accomplished quarterback. He went higher in the draft than McCarthy (first versus 10th), and has gone to two Pro Bowls. McCarthy, 23, ostensibly carries upside as a developing quarterback, and played well late last season. However, Murray looks more prepared to take over in OTAs and minicamp.
Still, Murray highlighted the downside to a true quarterback competition on Tuesday. The Arizona Cardinals prioritized Murray after drafting him first-overall in 2019. They drafted him to be their franchise quarterback, and they gave him ample time with the starters to prepare him to take over under center.
“The toughest part is I was there for seven years. I know I had two different offensive systems, but at the same time, you’re getting all those reps,” Murray said. “Now having to split reps, it’s me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that you would typically want a guy to get [to learn] an offense.”
Murray has the advantage of seven years of experience under center and being in his physical prime. Still, he’s Schroedinger’s starting quarterback so long as the Vikings believe McCarthy could win the competition. Murray must prepare to start, knowing he could be the backup. He can’t act like the starter until Minnesota gives him the job.
Seen another way, the Vikings are inefficiently preparing Murray to be the quarterback, because McCarthy may end up starting. So long as there are two possible starters, they aren’t fully preparing either to start.
It’s June, so that’s fine. However, Murray may not be ingesting Minnesota’s offense as quickly as if he got most of the first-team reps. That may help explain why Sam Darnold ended up playing in Seattle instead of Minnesota last season.
Darnold’s last two games had to have factored into their decision. Still, they knew that the poor interior offensive line influenced Darnold’s poor performance against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams to end the season.
However, the Vikings ultimately believed in McCarthy, and they wanted to give him every opportunity to succeed. They built an infrastructure around him, signing Jordan Mason as the second running back, then adding Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, and Will Fries to bolster the interior offensive line.
It also meant giving McCarthy the first-team reps to learn the offense and develop chemistry with his receivers. In hindsight, the Vikings should have held a quarterback competition between McCarthy and Darnold. Still, both quarterbacks needed first-team reps to improve, despite having been in the system before.
McCarthy studied the playbook and prepared to be Minnesota’s starter after suffering a season-ending injury as a rookie. However, he needed to learn how to manage the huddle and get the ball to his receivers in live action.
Meanwhile, Darnold threw for 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 4,319 yards with the Vikings two years ago. However, he learned how to manage pressure better and pushed the ball downfield more in Seattle. He would have needed the first-team reps to perfect timing on deep routes while becoming more comfortable throwing over the middle.
Consider Tom Pelissero’s reporting on the situation. He said on NFL Network that the Vikings made a similar offer to the three-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Seattle Seahawks. However, he’d have to split first-team reps in Minnesota, where he was the lone potential starter in Seattle.
The Vikings wanted to prioritize McCarthy’s development. Seattle needed to get Darnold ready to be their starting quarterback.
Murray will likely win the starting job. The Vikings are trying to mitigate any issues with him learning the offense by slowing down the install. Instead of giving him everything at once, as they did with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold, they’re offering it piecemeal.
“If I’ve really learned anything from coming in new with Kirk and with the whole offense is we probably installed…too much,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips admitted, adding that Cousins and Darnold handled the install well. “Coming in, it’s like, ‘Hey, we gotta get our offense in,’ and you’re pushing the envelope.”
Murray is likely learning enough that he can be ready if he’s the starter for Week 1 on September 13. Assuming he continues to look ahead of McCarthy, he likely will stop splitting reps once training camp resumes in late July.
It’s the same thing that would have happened if the Vikings had franchise-tagged Darnold. As a seven-year veteran who had played in O’Connell’s system two years ago, Darnold likely wins that competition. They’d have to prioritize him in camp to prepare him to start, knowing that doing so may stall McCarthy’s development.
A year ago, the Vikings chose McCarthy’s supposed upside over Darnold’s certainty. It didn’t work out. Now, either McCarthy taps into that upside, or Murray will start to take more first-team reps. If Murray wins the job, it then presents Minnesota with an even tougher question.
Are they better off with Kyler Murray under center? Or should they have stuck with Sam Darnold?
