Heading into the Minnesota Vikings' preseason finale, the position battle on everyone's mind is who the backup quarterback will be. J.J. McCarthy's hold on the gig is loose, at best, with Carson Wentz easy to see as the better option.
McCarthy suffered an ankle injury in the second preseason game, but if he's healthy, head coach Kevin O'Connell said he will start against the Denver Broncos in the preseason finale on Friday.
That adds another layer of question to the situation, beyond McCarthy simply needing reps. Someone who is solidified in their spot on the depth chart or roster isn't going to start the most meaningless of the preseason games.
Beyond that, there's the question of how much McCarthy will play if he does start. And beyond that, how meaningful will his work against Broncos' backups even be? He should look good in that circumstance, but what if he doesn't?
With his comments about his relationship with Kyler Murray early in OTAs, McCarthy invited questions about how he'd handle being the No. 2 quarterback. If he were to be the No. 3 quarterback, the logic of keeping him in that role is next to nil.
Minnesota Vikings beat writer brings J.J. McCarthy situation all the way to a logical end
On the latest episode of the "Vikings Collective" show, the backup quarterback battle was an automatic topic of conversation. The consensus among the three co-hosts was that the McCarthy situation is pretty much at an irreversible endpoint when it comes to his time with the Vikings, and Alec Lewis of The Athletic dropped the blunt reality of the situation.
"My expectation right now, and this is just based on conversations, but also what I’ve seen, is that Carson Wentz is definitely going to be the backup for the Minnesota Vikings.
And so, that would then lead you down the road of JJ McCarthy as the No. 3 quarterback. How okay is he going to be with that? I think that’s a very valid question.
If he’s not okay with that, does that end up leading to a conversation about, you know, is this the end of the road?”
There has been speculation about what the Vikings will do with McCarthy if/when he is the QB3, from trading him to a more unlikely scenario where they simply cut him.
It's also possible his earlier stance regarding not wanting to be traded will do a full 180 when he is not the primary backup, as Lewis alluded to.
Whatever happens with the Vikings' backup quarterback situation and McCarthy more specifically, a resolution is coming soon. The sentiment is going strongly one way, though, and it would take a lot in a very short period of time to change it.
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