The offseason program for the Minnesota Vikings kicked into full gear as they began their annual minicamp on Tuesday. Naturally, the focus was on the team’s quarterback competition, where Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy tried to stake their claim to the starting job for the upcoming season.
But like most of the competition so far, the biggest takeaway came from the press conferences after practice when Murray noted splitting first-team reps with McCarthy made it more difficult to master Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
“I think the toughest part is, again, I was [in Arizona] for seven years. I know I had two different offensive systems. But at the same time, you’re getting all those reps.
Now, having to split reps, me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that you would typically want a guy to get [while] learning an offense. That’s probably the toughest part.
Just, again, going back to the past, being in control of everything, understanding what we were already doing, because I was comfortable within the system. Now I’m coming into the new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient, and then let it loose while learning.”
Murray is stating the obvious that there is a learning curve when moving to a new team. But much like McCarthy’s comments about the two quarterbacks being “two guys in a classroom,” they could also be a cry for help that convinces the Vikings to trade McCarthy.
Minnesota Vikings would benefit greatly from trading J.J. McCarthy before training camp
It would be hard to blame Murray if he feels like reps are important to win the starting quarterback job.
O’Connell’s offense has been notoriously difficult for players to download upon his arrival in 2022 with Adam Thielen admitting his brain was “swimming” and Kirk Cousins resorting to flashcards to memorize the terminology.
Even Joshua Doubs, who is an actual rocket scientist, couldn’t get O’Connell’s offense memorized, noting how difficult it is to pick up.
O’Connell could justify this by saying it’s the NFL and the “pure progression” offense is becoming more popular across the league. But he’s also shown he’s unwilling to water it down, as McCarthy and Max Brosmer were thrown into the deep end before it was simplified when the Vikings were virtually eliminated from playoff contention.
With this in mind, the more reps the starting quarterback can get, the better. But the Vikings are hell-bent on making sure that McCarthy and Murray are in a competition, meaning both players will need first-team reps.
This sounds good in theory. More options mean the Vikings shouldn’t have to go through what they did last year with McCarthy, Brosmer, and Carson Wentz in the starting role.
It could also increase the trade value of either quarterback should they decide to part ways before the start of the season. But while O’Connell and new general manager Nolan Teasley have served up a word salad buffet, the Vikings’ actions have spoken louder than words.
McCarthy was the franchise’s future one year ago, but his on-field performance was nothing compared to the lightning rod he was off of it.
O’Connell brought up the Week 2 birth of McCarthy’s son repeatedly as a hindrance to his development, and McCarthy didn’t do himself any favors by revealing his “Nine” persona and hitting The Griddy after his coach’s warning during a Week 15 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
When the season ended, the Vikings looked to add competition for McCarthy. While Geno Smith was an option before he was traded to the New York Jets, SI’s Albert Breer reported the Vikings pursued Murray because he felt like he could be a multi-year solution.
Mix in comments from Teasley and Justin Jefferson about Murray’s potential, and it feels like this competition has been decided before the calendar turns to July.
These are just the things that are public knowledge. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis hinted at maturity issues that had some staff members pushing for the Vikings to sign Aaron Rodgers during the 2025 offseason, and those could be dug up if McCarthy is traded at some point in the future.
The Vikings could forge ahead, continue the competition through training camp, and potentially declare McCarthy the winner. But that would also deprive him of reps needed for his development, hurting his chances to hit his ceiling.
If the Vikings have decided on Murray, this would also be a detriment, as they would be running a circus during training camp just to hopefully get a fourth-round pick in return.
Murray’s comments won’t be the catalyst for the trade, but they should at least be food for thought. If the Vikings want to live up to their “super competitive” mandate, their best chance is to let their starting quarterback soak in as much as possible, and that means that McCarthy is likely to be the odd man out.
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