'He Had the Locker Room': Vikings' Brian O’Neill Backs J.J. McCarthy

Veteran Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Brian O'Neill still believes in J.J. McCarthy, and he thinks the rest of the locker room does, too.

"Even through some of the low (points), I mean, we were 4-8 at one point last year. We rattled off five straight. Like, guys believe in him and guys wanted us to figure it out and be better as an offense," O'Neill said in a recent interview on the Green Light podcast.

Through the first six years of his professional career, O'Neill manned the right side of the Vikings' offensive line, protecting Kirk Cousins. Then, over the past two seasons, he blocked for numerous quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold, McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer. There's been a lot of change in a short time for a once-stable QB situation. Many of those changes in 2025 were due to McCarthy's injuries and inconsistencies during his first stint as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

McCarthy didn't exactly live up to the billing in 2025, as a quarterback who was a top-10 pick coming out of college, fresh off winning the national championship. The former Michigan QB threw for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing just 57.6% of his passes in 10 starts. It was a poor year and one that forced Minnesota to go out and look for a veteran in the offseason.

Despite the rough start to McCarthy's NFL career, O'Neill said the Vikings' locker room "loves" the former first-round quarterback.

"You hear the term 'lose the locker room.' He had the locker room more than anybody I'd seen ever," O'Neill said. "You want to root for him. You want to do well, and you want him to keep taking those next steps."

O'Neill suggested the criticism for McCarthy has been too harsh, saying, "If I was judged after my first 10 games in the NFL, I'm not playing right now."

"There's a part of it where he's still so fresh and he's only going to continue to get better," continued O'Neill. "The whole attitude from us was, 'How do we go there as an offense together?'"

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) celebrates scoring a touchdown during a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, Dec 21, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

O'Neill noted the viral video of McCarthy and several Vikings players, including himself, in a suite at a recent Wild playoff game was thanks to McCarthy, who bought the box and invited his teammates to cheer on the Wild in their first-round series against the Dallas Stars.

The future for McCarthy is now a bit cloudier after the Vikings signed former first overall pick Kyler Murray to a one-year deal this offseason. In landing Murray, the Vikings got an experienced quarterback who has played at an MVP level in the past, and will be only 29 when the 2026 season begins.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has, so far, refused to name a starting quarterback, but the overwhelming opinion, regardless of what league insiders say, is that Murray will be handed the keys to Minnesota's offense. Meaning McCarthy will likely go through another season watching someone else play for the team he was drafted by in 2024.

"Kyler's been cool," said O'Neill. "He's been great. He made sure he introduced himself to all the linemen."

Add us as a preferred source on Google