This offseason will be an interesting one for the Minnesota Vikings. The team has to do something about their offense. In particular, the team needs to have better play at the quarterback position during the 2026 NFL season.
J.J. McCarthy was the Vikings' starting quarterback in 2025, but he struggled to stay healthy and be effective. For that reason, Minnesota needs to ensure that they have solid plans in place to make sure its young quarterback can develop while still keeping the team competitive.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson had some honest answers about the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback situation.
During the Up and Adams show, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson continued to echo his previous statements from this offseason about the purple and gold's quarterback situation.
“That’s not my decision. I don't care who’s throwing me that ball. That’s not my main priority… that person that’s throwing that ball needs to throw that ball, and lead us into that big dance at the end of the season. Right now, JJ is my QB. For me, it’s to get him to where we need to go, it starts off right now.”
Jefferson struggled to reach 1,000 receiving yards in 2025 due to questionable quarterback play. However, his ability to still reach that milestone during a season with so much offensive instability must be commended.
The argument is out there as to whether or not a wide receiver can be "quarterback-proof" in today's NFL, but this accomplishment by Justin Jefferson shows that he can still be an effective weapon while the Vikings figure out their quarterback situation.
It is unknown if Minnesota will try to roll with J.J. McCarthy as their starter and get a high-end backup to push and mentor him, or if they will look for an experienced passer to start while McCarthy works on his skills.
Either way the purple and gold go about it, they will have one of the best pass-catchers in the league waiting to get the football and hopefully take them to the postseason after missing the playoffs with a 9-8 record in 2025.
With the Minnesota Vikings no longer having Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager, the future of J.J. McCarthy is more up in the air than ever. It will be very interesting to see who the quarterback behind center will be when the 2026 NFL season kicks off for the purple and gold.