Vikings legend Cris Carter still isn't a J.J. McCarthy believer

Vikings legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter has not held back his skepticism around J.J. McCarthy at times this season. And even after the best game of the young quarterback's career on Sunday night, Carter still doesn't sound like a believer.

Around a month ago, after McCarthy struggled for much of a home loss to the Bears, Carter posted a critical tweet that led to a messy, absurd situation where McCarthy's longtime personal QB coach apologized for calling Carter a "f'kn clown." A day after the game, Carter continued to express concern about McCarthy's abilities in a KFAN interview, saying "at some point, the game will slow down, or at some point, he won't be that good. One of those two things is going to happen."

McCarthy's season reached an even lower point the following week in Green Bay, and he then missed a game while in concussion protocol. Since returning to action, though, McCarthy has racked up six total touchdowns and one fluky turnover in a pair of wins over the Commanders and Cowboys. He was particularly good on Sunday night against Dallas.

But in a Monday interview with Kay Adams, Carter didn't seem convinced. The interview started with Adams asking Carter what he thought of McCarthy's Griddy into the end zone — a move Kevin O'Connell didn't approve of.

"These Michigan guys, that's what I thought," said Carter, who played at Ohio State before his 16-year NFL career. "To me, that's not what KOC wants from his quarterback. Like, that alternate personality, number Nine, all that stuff. No one's ever won in the NFL doing this. To me, he acts like a kid, he's played like a kid, we're stuck with the kid 'til next year."

J.J. McCarthy — Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Perhaps surprised by the harsh nature of that quote, Adams then asked Carter if he's seen anything from McCarthy that's impressed him over the past couple weeks. Even that question mostly led to more criticism.

"It's the first time in 40 years, maybe even 50 years, since the Vikings been playing inside, that they ever left the game satisfied after their quarterback threw for 150 yards," Carter. "That's where we are the last two weeks. We have lowered our standards so much, to accommodate him."

McCarthy threw for 143 yards in each of his first two wins of the season, and 163 in a run-heavy game plan in the win over the Commanders. On Sunday night, he threw for a career-high 250 yards in his eighth start, while putting together his fourth win and his fourth three-touchdown game.

"But it's about winning, it's about growing, and we knew that we had a young quarterback, we knew that he didn't get a redshirt year last year," Carter said. "That year really hurt him. And this is what we're stuck with. When Carson Wentz gets hurt and now we can't go to the backup — we tried that and saw what happened out in Seattle — so we're stuck with him.

"Hope he can stay healthy, because these reps that he's getting, especially against the competition like Dallas Sunday night, they're invaluable for his overall growth. I still believe he can be the franchise quarterback, but let me tell you something, right now, today, we don't know."

That last line from Carter is as close as he came to praise for McCarthy. It's also a completely fair and rational opinion. Still, for Carter to say "we're stuck with him" three different times in a short segment is pretty notable and surprising to hear from one of the franchise's all-time greats.

Carter weighs in on the Jefferson situation

Adams then turned the discussion towards Justin Jefferson, who has struggled mightily to establish any sort of connection with McCarthy. The Vikings' offense has had some success over the past two weeks, but Jefferson has caught only four of 12 targets for 33 yards. He's been held under 25 yards for three straight games (one of them coming with Max Brosmer at QB) and doesn't have an 80-yard outing in the last 10 weeks.

"For one, this is the first time during JJ's career — that meaning Justin Jefferson — that they can't attack the full field," Carter said. "Ever since his rookie year, in KOC's offense, they've been able to throw the ball and take deep shots downfield, especially off the play action. And you can see that he's starting to press because he's not (getting) the numbers that he's used to. Randy Moss had some of the same issues. He was so successful early in his career that when things became difficult — and they only got difficult with inconsistency at quarterback. So he's pressing."

McCarthy's inaccuracy and growing pains have certainly contributed in a big way to the quietest season of Jefferson's career. He's sailed plenty of passes over his superstar receiver's head, including one on a crossing route on Sunday night. But it's also a two-way street. Jefferson dropped a touchdown pass against the Cowboys, which marks his fifth official drop (per PFF) in eight games with McCarthy. He also hasn't come down with numerous difficult contested catch opportunities.

When the two did connect on a touchdown pass on Sunday, it was wiped out by a prodecural penalty.

Off the field, Jefferson's patience and leadership have been impressive throughout a difficult season. He's said the right things and hasn't stirred up any drama, which he's proud of. Carter agreed that Jefferson taking that approach is for the best, but added that he might not have been capable of doing so if it were him.

"Justin Jefferson's a lot better than me," he said. "I think KOC's doing a great job by meeting with him on a weekly basis, informing him where they are as far as the team, he has tremendous input. To me, I just would've said something. He's doing a great job of trying to be the team leader and everything that we need him to be, and I'm glad that he's not doing things like that outwardly. He's not doing what A.J. Brown is doing there in Philadelphia, because that would really hurt the growth of the quarterback and it would affect him in drastic way.

"(Justin's) doing the right thing," Carter added. "He's saying all the right stuff as the franchise player. I've talked to him off the record, so trust me, he knows what's going on. But as a leader, he realized it's most important that he says and stays on the right page with KOC at this point in his career."

Carter weighs in on the Jefferson situation

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