Kevin O'Connell explains why J.J. McCarthy hasn't been named Vikings' starting QB

McCarthy is joined in the QB room by Sam Howell and Brett Rypien.

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) and head coach Kevin O'Connell react before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Why haven't the Minnesota Vikings declared J.J. McCarthy as the starting quarterback yet? It's clear that he's the guy, but why won't head coach Kevin O'Connell say publicly what appears to be so obvious?

The reigning NFL coach of the year provided an answer to that question when asked by Kay Adams.

"We can't even line up defensive players from our own team against him yet. So we really don't have a need to have anything more than just development time, learning time, teaching phase for our entire team," O'Connell said in an interview that was released via Up & Adams on Wednesday.

"But trust me, J.J.'s going to get all of the prerequisite work for us to come out of the spring feeling great about where he's at and heading into training camp. As those days and weeks click off the calendar here, I'm sure he'll be in a great position to do a lot of good things for us."

McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in last year's draft, is the likely starter in Week 1. The only player capable of unseating him as QB1 in Week 1 is Sam Howell, whom the Vikings traded for during Day 3 of the NFL draft in a move that appeared to solidify the quarterback room with an experienced backup. Brett Rypien likely slots in third on the depth chart.

"We're going to have a great offseason program and take it day-by-day with a plan for J.J. to allow him to leave for the summer before he comes back here for training camp feeling like he's absolutely ready to go," O'Connell explained.

"He's done his part, I'll tell you that. He's killed the rehab process. He's got his weight back up. He's strong. He's probably, metric wise, a lot further along beyond than he was before the injury last year. Very excited to officially get this thing going with him."

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