As Kyler Murray Takes Hold of QB1, Pelissero Wonders if Vikings Could Trade J.J. McCarthy

Pelissero, who has long suggested there will be a fair QB competition, is beginning to lean toward Kyler Murray.

Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws a pass against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Nobody has pushed the narrative that Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy are involved in a fair quarterback competition harder than NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, but the esteemed insider appears to be loosening his grip on that opinion.

Appearing on KFAN's "Power Trip Morning Show" on Thursday, Pelissero said he won't be surprised if Murray starts taking more practice reps with the starters as organized team activities continue this month.

"It's been everything, at least through the first two weeks of OTAs, was split 50-50 between Kyler and J.J. So from the aspect of equal opportunity, rotating who goes first in drills and things like that, they've been on the same playing field so far," Pelissero began.

"I would anticipate, as soon as this week... you may see the reps, it may evolve a little bit. I don't believe that [head coach Kevin O'Connell] needs to take this all the way through the third preseason game to determine a starting quarterback. You're going to probably have a pretty good idea by the end of spring what direction this is going to go.

"J.J.'s made strides. I think everybody who's watched him throw, you can see mechanically he looks a little bit different than he has in the past. Kyler comes in as just a baller, man. The off-schedule things that he is capable of doing. You gotta find out, can he consistently play the position the way that the Vikings want him to in terms of playing on time and being a good decision maker?"

In the end, Murray is grabbing hold of the No. 1 QB spot on the depth chart, just as everyone with a pulse expected.

"I would imagine you're going to start to see the reps change a little bit here over the next couple of weeks as they hone in on what their plan is going to be going into training camp," Pelissero added.

So what's next for McCarthy? Pelissero says O'Connell doesn't want to "give up" on the 23-year-old, but business decisions will need to be made, and that could mean a trade.

"I don't know what direction they're going to go as you get closer to the season, but let's say Kyler wins the job. If you had to lean one way or another, sitting right here, I would lean toward Kyler as the starting quarterback," Pelissero said. "Do you have J.J. as the backup? Do you potentially look to trade him while there's still some intrigue within the league, and you might be able to get more for him with two years left on his rookie contract than with one year left? Those are all things that I would think you're going to talk through."

In the end, Carson Wentz is also on the roster, so Minnesota could elect to trade McCarthy at any time and still feel pretty good about the QB room going into the 2026 season. The issue that arises from trading McCarthy now is that Wentz isn't a long-term answer, and Murray will have the power to negotiate with other teams if the Vikings don't sign him to a contract extension by next March.

If Murray signs elsewhere and McCarthy has already been traded, the Vikings will once again be scouring free agency (Hi, Mac Jones) in 2027 or looking to land a quarterback in the loaded 2027 draft.