Vikings players showed 1 action to prove how they feel about J.J. McCarthy

There aren't many people outside the state of Minnesota who believe in starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. That hasn't stopped the Minnesota Vikings from showing it in their own way.

The Vikings announced their team captains for the upcoming 2025 season. They selected eight in total, including McCarthy, the be shown as the leaders of the franchise.

• QB J.J. McCarthy
• WR Justin Jefferson
• S Harrison Smith
• RB Aaron Jones Sr.
• LS Andrew DePaola
• S Josh Metellus
• OLB Jonathan Greenard
• T Brian O'Neill

While speaking to the media on Thursday, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell responded to a question about what it says about McCarthy being named a captain. O'Connell knows it speaks volumes to how McCarthy's teammates feel about him.

"You can't fool your teammates, and that can work in a positive way and a negative way. I think these guys have just watched the way he's worked, not only this spring and training camp, but I think it goes back beyond that during his what was throughout the time of rehab and kind of dealing with having the game taken away from him, getting to step on the grass every day and play. I think they've just seen a guy that works. You guys have heard me talk about some of the unique kind of personality traits and qualities that he has that I think bodes well in this day in age in the leadership department and in an NFL locker room and on an offense with a lot of veteran players. It's always a great exercise for me. I can have a perception all I want of players and how their teammates may view them, but when you do it the way we do it and players get to decide those votes and those votes usually speak loudly about what the teams thinks of certain players and J.J.'s definitely one of them."

J.J. McCarthy has officially taken over the Minnesota Vikings with the captain title

The times of talking about the Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins days, as well as sharing the feelings of Aaron Rodgers being a potential starter, are over. This team belongs to McCarthy, and the players have officially handed him the keys.

McCarthy has had the respect of his teammates all offseason for his work ethic in attacking his rehab from his torn meniscus injury last year and building rapport with his receivers. It has shown positively during training camp and the preseason.

Minnesota was more cautious with McCarthy during the preseason, as he didn't get to play as much as fans would have hoped. He still completed four of seven passes for 30 yards. The numbers won't blow fans away, but he looked good in his short time.

This is a big step the Vikings organization took in continuously backing up and supporting McCarthy. Now the team can focus on Week 1 against the Chicago Bears and take that next step with just one win.

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