Vikings OC Sidesteps QB Controversy, Praises J.J. McCarthy's 'Upward Arrow'

Perhaps tired of the drama that comes with every word spoken about the alleged quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips wasn't interested in getting into the details about why he feels McCarthy continues to grow in his third NFL season.

"You guys are going to dig into every side-eye look or anything you can," Phillips said Wednesday, "and I totally understand that, but we have a good culture here. These guys are competing, and they're up for the challenge."

Phillips all but admitted that he wasn't going to load the media's cannons with more gunpowder, instead leaving it up to the witnesses taking in Minnesota's second practice of mandatory minicamp to decipher the alleged quarterback battle between Murray and McCarthy.

The QB drama ramped up on May 27 when McCarthy was asked about his relationship with Murray.

"It's just like two guys in a classroom," McCarthy said. "He sits on one side. I sit on the other side. And it's the coaches' responsibility to teach us and coach us." Asked if there's any awkwardness, McCarthy said, "It's just like the same feeling when you're in high school, and there's another person on the other side of the room. That's just kind of how it is. I wouldn't say there's any awkwardness."

The dynamic evolved this week when Murray implied that he's not a fan of splitting QB1 reps.

"I was (in Arizona) for seven years," Murray said. "I know I had two different offensive systems, but at the same time, you're getting all those reps. Now having to split reps, me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that you would typically want a guy to get learning an offense, that's probably the toughest part."

Reading too much into his words can be dangerous, but it's hard not to assume he thinks he's locked in as QB1 and that he deserves all of the first-team reps. Meanwhile, McCarthy said he's been told that it's a "true competition" between him and Murray, although Murray said Wednesday that he's "not really too worried about the competition side of things."

Not worried as in he doesn't think McCarthy can win the job?

While Phillips didn't fuel the fire, he was very complimentary of McCarthy's growth.

"It's just been a continuous upward arrow for him. It is fun to see guys come back in shape. You know guys have been working, and then at certain positions where you just notice that guys have been working from a skill and fundamental standpoint as well, on the things that have been talked about throughout a season," Phillips explained.

"And they come back, and you say, 'Oh, that looks a little better. Oh, look at him, I can tell he's been working on that, and been very intentional in the offseason on his own when nobody's watching.' There's several things with J.J. that we noticed right off the bat that were improvements from things that he had done, or continuing to grow on some of those techniques and fundamentals."

Tight end T.J. Hockenson also said McCarthy looks much-improved.

"He's obviously improved a lot. Coming in here, he was prepared to play. He went out to California, I know, and got a lot of work out there. He's shown up, and he's been ready to play and throw the ball," Hockenson said Wednesday. "It's been fun playing with him; it always has been. It's going to be fun to see what happens."

Until head coach Kevin O'Connell names the starting quarterback, the drama could continue. Mandatory minicamp wraps up Thursday, and then there are four days of organized team activities June 15-18 before the players get a month off before reporting to training camp. If we don't know the starter by then, perhaps McCarthy really does have a chance to win the job.

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