The Minnesota Vikings confirmed on Tuesday, Aug. 11, that Kyler Murray will be the team's starter for the 2026 NFL season. The move sends former 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy to the bench as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart.
But according to head coach Kevin O'Connell, that might not stay the case forever. "What I would say is this: I did mean that in regards to the question of is he [the backup] — is that he has taken all the two reps in practice and he's done really well," O'Connell said Wednesday. "You think about from the time we made that announcement until now, there's been some plays where I've been proud as heck ...
There's been some really good stuff. But I want those guys feeling like they're competing. "The philosophy around making our quarterback room competitive [is to] allow that to rise to the standard of not only our team but our offense," O'Connell added.
"We want J.J. feeling like, 'I'm one step away, and I have to prepare like the starter anyway.' It's easy to say those things, but we wanted to have a room that forced it. We'll see these next couple of weeks play out. We're going to do what's best for our team.
Proud of the way J.J.'s handled the last few days." More news: Eagles’ $100 Million Man in Doubt for Week 1 More news: Seahawks’ Trevon Diggs Signing Sets up Special Full-Circle Moment in 2026 McCarthy is still just 23 years old and has only one season of starting experience under his belt, so there's technically still time for him to turn things around. But he struggled last season when given the opportunity, completing just 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions across 10 games — despite having some of the best offensive weapons in the NFL in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, not to mention one of the game's sharpest offensive minds in O'Connell.
That's not the outcome the Vikings envisioned when they traded up to draft McCarthy two years ago. Now Murray steps into that same offense with a fresh opportunity to establish himself as the franchise's quarterback of the future — and he already looks like a player who's several steps ahead in doing so. McCarthy remains QB2 on the depth chart for now, but O'Connell made clear that spot isn't locked in.
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