With the Minnesota Vikings signing Kyler Murray last week, some have felt the final chapter has already been written for J.J. McCarthy. But others, like former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, have been able to see the bigger picture.
During a recent episode of "The Richard Sherman Podcast," he explained why Murray joining the Vikings this year could be the best thing for McCarthy's career in the NFL.
"This is going to help J.J. McCarthy in the end. This is what he needs. He needs to sit behind a veteran and learn, and just be comfortable in his role, and just get better, continue to develop, you know, maybe in the future he can have a really good NFL career.
...I think sitting behind Kyler Murray, sitting behind any veteran quarterback, is going to help in his development, in his maturation, and give him kind of a road map of how to prepare, instead of just being thrown into the fire and expected to fend for himself.
I think, again, it's going to help him, and it's going to extend his NFL life more than if he just went out there for another season and started, and if he didn't do well, like if they did not pick up Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy was expected to go out there and start, and if he didn't do well, if he didn't go out there and just light the world on fire, and they bench him, you're looking at the beginning of the end for J.J. McCarthy's career.”
Richard Sherman knows Kyler Murray's arrival could be great for Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy
Sherman spent 11 years in the NFL, so he knows that an inexperienced quarterback struggling in the first or second year of their career doesn't mean that player should be written off.
Sometimes, in order to move forward, a few steps backward are necessary, and as Sherman points out, McCarthy sitting back and learning from a veteran quarterback could be exactly what he needs to help him reach his full potential in the NFL.
At the same time, if Murray performs well for Minnesota next season, it's safe to say the Vikings aren't going to let him leave in free agency in 2027 as they did with Sam Darnold in 2025. There is a less than zero percent chance that Minnesota would want to go through something similar to all of that again.
At this point, the Vikings and head coach Kevin O'Connell would probably just like some consistency at the quarterback position. If Murray ends up opening up the 2026 season as Minnesota's starting signal-caller, he will be the fourth different quarterback to start under center for the Vikings in a Week 1 game since 2023.
Regardless, the book hasn't closed on McCarthy yet. Last season didn't go as planned, and now it's up to him to do everything he can in 2026 to work on his weaknesses in order to have a better chance to silence the thousands of meme accounts waiting for his next mistake.