After the missstep of taking all of last offseason to find a viable backup for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Minnesota Vikings were going to fix that situation this offseason. In an ideal alignment of a player's situation with their own financial limits, they signed Kyler Murray to a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell immediately declared he didn't have to name a starting quarterback in March. While that's technically correct, and still stands now, we know the direction it will go, barring something unforeseen.
The effort to push the idea of an equal competition between Murray and McCarthy for the starting job will use reporters as vessels until further notice. The blunt overriding truth is this: McCarthy has to clearly beat out Murray if he's going to be the starter. Otherwise, a Murray injury would be the clearest path to McCarthy getting the gig.
A Minnesota Vikings beat writer has confirmed what everyone knows about the team's QB competition for the 2026 NFL season.
On the May 15 edition of KFAN's "The Paul Allen Show", the eponymous host asked Alec Lewis of The Athletic about the Vikings' quarterback competition.
"Murray and McCarthy. How open is this competition?", Allen asked.
"I would say it's, it's open, like..it's open", Lewis said. "But, like, the resolution, I would be very, very, very surprised if somehow in training camp, JJ McCarthy looked vastly better, to where he really pushed for the opportunity...It's open because the Vikings wanna push these guys to their maximum level."
"There is benefit in there being noise, because that means guys like Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy, who need to maximize who they are and what they can be, like, that can thrust them to being that."
After outlining the career resumes of the two competitors, Lewis landed in the obvious, logical place.
"There's just no question in my right mind that Kyler Murray would be the large, large favorite.”
With no agenda or narrative he's inclined to push, Lewis couldn't talk himself into the competition for the starting job having any real staying power.
Even if nothing will be said publicly by O'Connell until it has to be, or some reporters just want to put the Vikings' narrative out there in exchange for continued access to information, everyone knows Murray is the clear favorite to win the job.
It's up to McCarthy to unequivocally change that narrative. As Lewis said, it's hard to envision that happening based on what we've seen from him.
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