Time's Up for Murray and McCarthy: O'Connell Must Decide Starting Quarterback

Kevin O'Connell gave both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy legitimate looks in a true quarterback competition, but it's time to put this to an end.

J.J. McCarthy during a June 2026 OTA practice in Eagan, Minnesota. | Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings (Alli Rusco)

No quarterbacks were harmed in the execution of this quarterback competition. 

When Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell talked at the podium before the team’s night practice on Sunday, he noted that Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy have both gotten a 50-50 share of the total reps throughout training camp. While local rep-counting experts have tracked Murray with nearly three times as many reps with the first team in the midst of the quarterback competition, neither QB can say that they haven’t gotten their chance to throw as many footballs as possible to state their case.

Murray has put together several days when he and Justin Jefferson have connected repeatedly. He has also had multiple practices that look like he hasn’t gotten a hold of the offense yet and the success rate of his reps is mediocre. 

McCarthy started out slowly but has increased his aggressiveness in recent days and had a number of high-quality throws downfield. He has also shown the same propensity for inconsistency that caused the Vikings to seek a veteran starting quarterback this offseason.

O'Connell has ensured a true competition

Neither QB can claim that they have been wronged by the head coach’s plan.

It seems that O’Connell wanted to push Murray as hard as possible to get him to lock into the offense and motivate him. With McCarthy, it appears O’Connell wanted to get a true evaluation of how far he has developed over the last year, give him every opportunity to prove that he can still become the team’s starting QB and develop him along the way. 

Now as the Vikings prepare for the start of the preseason, there are two directions that they can go. The first is to name Murray the starter and lean completely into him with the rest of the reps throughout training camp. The other is to truly commit to the competition and begin giving McCarthy an equal share of reps with Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson and the first-team offensive line.

If Murray is the starter, he needs reps

The argument for going in the first direction would be that Murray needs every single rep from here on if he’s going to be totally comfortable heading into Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. Standing off to the side and watching McCarthy isn’t helping him build a deeper knowledge of an offense that was described by Jefferson as “complicated.” If you were hoping that a home-run hitter was going to blast as many dingers as possible, you wouldn’t have them watch someone else take hacks in the batting cage.

If Murray was shredding the defense every day, then it would be fine to let things go on as long as the Vikings want. But the fact that he has seemed comfortable some days and uncomfortable on other days means that if he’s going to be the QB1, he needs as much work as humanly possible in the month leading up to a vital game against the Green Bay Packers. 

On the other hand, if O’Connell isn’t sold at all on what he’s seen from Murray, then it’s time to give McCarthy every opportunity to succeed in the QB competition. 

McCarthy's path to QB1

We have heard all the excuses and explanations for McCarthy’s struggles, and those don’t change the facts about how he played. But it’s true that he’s a young quarterback and only played 10 games before this year. That shouldn’t end any and all chance that he can still become an NFL starter.

If the coaches believe that he’s been locking in lately and there’s a chance he’s turning a big corner, then he needs to play with the most important player in the franchise. He had a big throw to Jefferson in the night practice, but it was one of only a handful of targets between the two during this entire camp. 

The Vikings probably won’t utilize the preseason games for the QB competition based on O’Connell’s track record. He hasn’t wanted the first-team offensive players like Jefferson and the O-line to play more than one series in order to avoid any senseless injuries. So the marquee event would be the Vikings’ joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens that take place on August 19th and 20th. 

If it reaches that point, then we will be sure that McCarthy has kept up with Murray throughout the summer and that there’s still a chance of him starting. 

The question is whether O’Connell wants to take it that far. 

Either way, the Vikings’ head coach has given each QB plenty of opportunity to state their case. Now they have reached a fork in the road.

It’s time to either let Murray get down to the business of being QB1 or let McCarthy truly have his say. Staying the path that this QB competition has gone on is not particularly good for anybody.

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