Should J.J. McCarthy remain the Vikings' starting quarterback when healthy?

Minnesota has a lot of different ways it could handle the quarterback position to finish the 2025-26 season.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) trips on a teammate during the first quarter of their game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, November 23, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

J.J. McCarthy in concussion protocol, which could put undrafted free agent (UDFA) rookie QB Max Brosmer in line to make his first career start this Sunday against the Seahawks. But what happens to McCarthy if Brosmer plays well enough to earn the starting job?

Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer thinks that the plan is still for McCarthy to retake the reins and finish out the year once he's recovered from his concussion, with the Vikings trying to gather as much intel as possible before making a call on the 2026 season.

"I think that's TBD, sorta depends on how J.J. (McCarthy) plays the rest of the year. They do want to see how he finishes the year out. They want to gather as much information as they possibly can on him. But I think the reality of it is they know they have a team that's really good, and it should be in a spot to contend right now," national SI NFL reporter Albert Breer said on Monday.

"J.J. hasn't played well; there's no sugarcoating that. I think J.J. has potential to be a good player, but clearly needs some more development... We'll see if Max Brosmer winds up starting this week. They do think a lot of Brosmer; they wanted to get a look at Brosmer by the end of the year, so maybe that happens organically this week."

https://t.co/W6uZDxbRlJ

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 25, 2025

Subscribe: Sign up to receive the free Vikings On SI newsletter

McCarthy is the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL, but he has objectively played poorly. He has completed 54.1% of his passes for 929 yards, eight total touchdowns and 10 interceptions in six starts this season.

"Either way, I think that for the future, the Vikings want to have a more complete view of J.J. McCarthy. If he keeps playing the way that he is right now, I would say at the very least he would have competition in there for the job in 2026, which is sorta how they intended it to be in 2025. When they were looking at bringing Daniel Jones back on a one-year deal, and Sam Darnold back on a one-year deal."

Kevin O'Connell and the entire Vikings franchise has preached patience when it comes to developing quarterbacks, but how patient can they be? What happens if McCarthy is inactive on Sunday, and Brosmer comes in and lights the world on fire? It's important to not put the cart before the horse, but Minnesota's offense has looked abysmal with McCarthy. If there are improvements with Brosmer it would be hard to hand the reigns back to McCarthy.

Right now, Minnesota doesn't have to make that decision. But it seems like the biggest storyline looming over the franchise with their 2025-26 playoff hopes seemingly out the window.