Vikings Staring at Unmistakable J.J. McCarthy Reality Now

Suffice it to say, this doesn't look like his year.

J.J. McCarthy during the Vikings' June 4, 2026, OTA practice. | Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings (Alli Rusco)

Coming into training camp, the Minnesota Vikings wanted to give JJ McCarthy every opportunity to show how much progress he was able to make during the spring. They gave him an outline of where he needed to improve, and he spent time working with a QB coach and getting together with Vikings wide receivers in order to grow as much as possible this offseason.

When Kevin O’Connell declared that Kyler Murray was going to be the starting quarterback, he said that it was a difficult decision and that there was a lot of development that had gone on for his young quarterback. 

But the Vikings’ two preseason games have had plenty of moments that are demonstrative that there is still a long way to go. 

J.J. McCarthy needs more time, leaving Vikings with choice to make

Against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, McCarthy showed his arm strength and aggressiveness with a deep shot to receiver Tai Felton for 50 yards but that was followed up with him missing two routine touchdown passes. The second of which was as routine as routine throws in the NFL come – a flat route to Myles Price that was thrown too hard and too high.

McCarthy had to leave the game early because he got “banged up.” Taking hits and sacks and getting sidelined by injury has been a problem in his young career.  

It was a similar story for McCarthy in joint practices against the Ravens. He had some really good moments, including a long touchdown pass to Price down the seam to finish a situational drill, but during Day 2’s practice he threw a pick-six that was as inadvisable as you will ever see. 

It seems like a fair conclusion to say that, while the Vikings’ coaches may be seeing progress behind the scenes and in the details of running the offense and decision making, the results have been pretty similar to what we have seen during his performances last year. It’s been lacking in refinement. 

After Saturday’s mishaps in the red zone, the reality may be settling in that The McCarthy Project is going to take more time than just one spring of tossing the pigskin around with teammates and nine competitive practices during the QB competition. He still needs to become much quicker at getting through reads and getting rid of the football and much more precise when it comes to his accuracy. 

The performances have put into question whether McCarthy will be QB2, assuming he is still a Viking, in Week 1 because backup Carson Wentz has looked more locked into the timing of the offense despite taking very few reps during camp and playing with the third-string unit in preseason games. 

Folks who fell in love with McCarthy’s energy and penchant for the exciting plays were holding out hope that there would be an instant shift and all of the things that ailed him would suddenly vanish into thin air. That sounds a little pie in the sky, but maybe not the most ridiculous thing ever, when you consider that Sam Darnold went from one of the biggest busts of the last decade to the Super Bowl champion QB in two years. 

But traditionally the QB turnaround stories have taken much longer than one offseason. Darnold needed a year as a backup behind Brock Purdy in order to fully understand where he had been going wrong in his career. When he was in Minnesota, Darnold said that he learned from watching Purdy that if he stayed within himself and “played point guard” that he would have more success than trying to play hero. 

Alex Smith isn’t talked about often when it comes to highly-drafted quarterbacks who eventually developed into good starters. He similarly struggled with touch, accuracy and timing early in his career, completing just 54.4% of his passes through his first 30 NFL games. After missing the 2008 season, he returned in ‘09 with a 60.5% completion percentage (which was passable at the time) and began an ascent that would peak with him winning 13 games in 2011. 

What’s similar about these two development stories is that things clicked for Darnold and Smith at age 27. McCarthy will turn 24 this January. 

If he has the patience to persevere and keep pushing, there is enough talent in his arm and legs to write his own turnaround story. It’s just not likely to happen anywhere near as fast as everyone wants. 

And there is also a reality that it might not happen. Blaine Gabbert and EJ Manuel, two first-round draft picks, had similar stat lines through their first two years and never found their way back to being NFL starters. 

Nobody knows which way it’s going to go. As far as what that says for the Vikings, it probably means that eventually he will need a second chance somewhere else. For now, the best thing he can do is spend every practice focusing on those areas of improvement and the best thing for the Vikings would be if he was ready if Kyler Murray were to get injured.

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