Throughout last summer, there was enough concern around the Minnesota Vikings organization about J.J. McCarthy being the team's starting quarterback that some players and staffers actually viewed Max Brosmer -- an undrafted rookie -- as being better prepared to be Minnesota's Week 1 starter. It wasn't because Brosmer was more talented.
That clearly wasn't the case. It was largely due to other important parts of being an NFL starting quarterback such as managing a team, commanding the huddle and -- as one source shared with CBS Sports -- McCarthy being "unpredictable" on a daily basis in addition to the obvious on-field growing pains with the No. 10 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. "A franchise quarterback is supposed to be the stability piece of a franchise, like you know what you're getting every day," a source said.
"But with J.J., you weren't sure which version you were going to get. I think he's just still so young and may not have understood yet what that position fully entails and things like the consistency and day-to-day commitment." Now, one year later and days removed from Kyler Murray being named as the Vikings' new starting quarterback, one of the natural questions becomes: What's next for McCarthy? The answer: Despite finishing with the second-worst quarterback rating among NFL quarterbacks with more than 155 pass attempts, there are at least some NFL coaches and front office staffers not yet ready to completely write off the former University of Michigan star, especially factoring in that he's only 23 and has been consistently set back by injuries his first two NFL seasons.
After missing his rookie year due to a knee injury, he dealt with multiple injuries last season, including a high-ankle sprain that caused him to miss five games. "He is talented," a defensive coach said. "If he can learn how to manage a game and not do too much and not do more than what's required of him, I still think he can be a starter." In his 10 starts last year, McCarthy finished with more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (11) and only twice posted more than 182 passing yards.
During a November loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota had eight false-start penalties. That's tied for the second-most false starts by a home team in a single game since 2000. "Just looked last year like a young player who was still trying to find his confidence," an NFL front office official said.
"His accuracy was a little bit inconsistent. Was more of in a developmental state of how he played. You saw the frame, the athlete and a good throwing motion, but it was just more like he probably needed more time on task." Naturally, some NFL teams have studied and gathered feedback on McCarthy in recent months in case he becomes available at some point, especially with many in league circles expecting since Murray signed with the Vikings in March for the 2019 No. 1 overall pick to end up winning Minnesota's starting quarterback job.
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