To the surprise of some local and national reporters, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell did not name free-agency signing Kyler Murray the team’s starting quarterback over third-year pro J.J. McCarthy before the NFL’s ongoing summer break got underway.
While speaking with reporters via a Zoom call related to the American Century Championship golf event, O’Connell offered a hint for why he feels either Murray or McCarthy could enjoy success as the team’s QB1 later this fall.
Kevin O’Connell speaks carefully about Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy competition
“What we’ve tried to do is put together a world where the quarterback — whoever is in the game for us — can prepare and simply do their job,” O’Connell explained, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “When you get quality play at that position — and what that looks like can look a lot different depending on guys’ skill set — it just leads to so many avenues to your team having a chance to win different types of games.”
It’s not surprising that O’Connell spoke carefully about a competition that is set to resume when training camps open later this month. While one report indicated that neither Murray nor McCarthy “performed drastically better than the other” during springtime workouts open to media members, a subsequent story claimed that “Murray remains the favorite to win the starting job in training camp.”
The Vikings are scheduled to open the preseason with a matchup at the New York Giants on Aug. 15. Assuming O’Connell plans to hold a legitimate QB battle, either Murray or McCarthy should get the start against the Giants, while the other should then get the nod for Minnesota’s home game versus the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 22.
Back in June, O’Connell said that “to give an actual date” for a QB1 decision “would be not necessarily accurate from a portrayal of how we see it.” In short, it sounds like there is a chance that both Murray and McCarthy could take meaningful snaps when the Vikings wrap the preseason up with a game at the Denver Broncos on Aug. 28.