ESPN's Aaron Schatz recently listed one player from every NFL team that needs a change of scenery. For the Minnesota Vikings, he unsurprisingly chose quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Schatz explained why he believes McCarthy would be better off playing elsewhere for the rest of his NFL career.
"A fresh start for McCarthy with a different organization might be the best thing for his career. Yes, you want a young QB to be with an offensive-minded coach, such as Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell, for his development.
However, things went so badly for the Vikings with McCarthy last season that it might be best to get him out of the shadow of Super Bowl winner Sam Darnold."
Schatz's reasoning contains some truths and some things that may also not be so valid.
ESPN suggests Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy needs a change of scenery
Schatz is right when he talks about McCarthy now standing in the shadow of Sam Darnold. No question, having the quarterback you replaced go on to win the Super Bowl with a different team adds to the pressure to perform and produce results.
That's a heavy burden for any player to bear, especially one who is just 23 years old.
So that's correct, and it's definitely true about wanting a young quarterback to be with an offensive-minded coach in Kevin O'Connell for development purposes. However, the fact that he states that, while also saying McCarthy is better off with a new organization, does seem contradictory.
The other part that may not be 100 percent true is when Schatz says, things went "so badly" for Minnesota with McCarthy in 2025. Sure, at times things were ugly, but were they that bad?
McCarthy did have an amazing fourth quarter in the opening game of the season when he willed the Vikings to a win over the Chicago Bears and earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Injuries and time away were frustrating, and he did have some inaccurate throws or maybe threw the ball with a lack of touch at times. There was good mixed in with the bad, and Minnesota still won nine games.
Almost all young quarterbacks struggle, and when they do, fans and the media are quick to throw out that bust label and don't allow the patience needed to develop a young quarterback.
One could agree with Schatz's take here if it were revealed that McCarthy was former Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's handpicked guy.
If Adofo-Mensah was all in on McCarthy and ignored any objection to the pick from his head coach and offensive staff, then yes, it would be easy to say the young quarterback needs a change of scenery. If that was the case, he'd be with a head coach who didn't want him and would basically be in a lame -duck type of situation.
However, in the weeks that followed Adofo-Mensah's firing, we've found out that it isn't the case. It's been reported multiple times that while O'Connell did prefer Drake Maye, he was also 100 percent on board with McCarthy being his guy. He was even supposedly willing to move up into the draft to get McCarthy if that's what it took.
The fact that Minnesota's head coach still believes in his young quarterback really goes against the thought of a new franchise being the best fit. McCarthy's teammates also seem to love the kid and have given him nothing but support when asked about their opinions of their quarterback in the media.
Choosing McCarthy as the one player from the Vikings who needs a change of scenery is the easy choice to make. Quarterback is the most important and most difficult position in all of sports, and the start of McCarthy's career hasn't gone smoothly.
He's been injured, he's been ridiculed, the general manager who drafted him got fired, and the quarterback he replaced just won the Super Bowl. However, a quick dive into the situation leads one to believe that Minnesota is still the best place for him.
He's got an offensive-minded head coach who wanted him, he's got teammates who believe in him, and he's got an excellent defense to back him up if he makes a mistake.
While his 2025 season didn't go as planned, the Vikings should continue to develop McCarthy. They can go right ahead and add some competition to the quarterback room this offseason, but they shouldn't ship McCarthy to another franchise.