Until someone is named the starter, the No. 1 storyline at Minnesota Vikings training camp will be the battle for the starting job under center between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy. Murray is the presumptive favorite until shown otherwise, with the onus on McCarthy to show he should be the guy.
To some degree, each guy can show the Vikings' coaching staff how they'd handle being the backup. While it's easy to overblow what he said back in late May at OTAs, McCarthy also may have signaled how he'd handle being the No. 2 quarterback. Which is to say, not all that well.
There is a scenario, with Carson Wentz also on the depth chart, where the loser of the battle for the starting job becomes a potential trade candidate. All of that talk is naturally centered around McCarthy right now, but in concert with the chance he wins the job, there's a chance Murray becomes a tradeable asset.
A new potential trade suitor for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been brought to light
The Minnesota Vikings were finally poised to use an early pick on a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. There was one player in a deep class at the position they coveted the most (Drake Maye), but by the time they were on the clock (after trading up one spot), it was down to McCarthy and one other guy who was regarded as a first-round prospect--Bo Nix.
Nix landed with the Denver Broncos two picks after the Vikings took McCarthy. Even accounting for nuances like scheme fit, two years in, it looks like the Vikings made the wrong choice.
On a recent episode of his "David Talks Broncos" podcast, analyst David Marshall offered McCarthy as one of the potential options for the Broncos to add as a developmental backup quarterback who could stick around for a little while. It's safe to say current backups Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger don't fit that bill.
"(McCarthy) was kind of a disaster last year after his time at Michigan,” Marshall said. “You could see here at Michigan, National Champion, he’s got all the traits and tools you’re looking for, and you saw here during his time in the NFL, he tore his ACL in 2024 so he didn’t get a lot of time to actually improve his game.”
"He played in a pro-style offense under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and I think he’s got the brains to operate this offense with Sean Payton [and] Davis Webb,” Marshall explained. “He needs to fine-tune his mechanics, his footwork, and that’s where the Broncos do some of their best work.”
“I think J.J. McCarthy in terms of not looking at him as a franchise quarterback because we’ve got that in Bo Nix, but as that franchise backup,” Marshall added. “That next guy that can be here for a few years.”
Losing the starting job to Murray in training camp wouldn't necessarily, automatically mark the end of McCarthy's time as a Viking. At the same time, a change of scenery would be a natural next thing to consider, and despite his clearly saying otherwise when it came up previously, would he ask to be traded?
If the next phase of his career is not in Minnesota, getting traded to the Broncos to be the backup to one of his draft classmates would be an ironic twist for McCarthy. But coupled with the change of scenery he may need, there are far worse things for a young quarterback than working under Sean Payton and the well-regarded Davis Webb.
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