Many members of the NFL community seem to believe it will be a matter of when and not if Kyler Murray will replace J.J. McCarthy as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback before the 2026 season gets underway.
New Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jalen Nailor shared a locker room with McCarthy over the past two campaigns. During a Thursday appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” program, Nailor sent somewhat of a message to Murray regarding how McCarthy will respond to having to compete for the QB1 gig with the former Arizona Cardinals starter.
Should Kyler Murray be ready for a battle with J.J. McCarthy?
“It’s gonna be a battle,” Nailor explained. “I can tell you that. It‘s gonna be a great QB battle. I don’t know who’s gonna come out on top. I’m probably rockin’ with my guy, J.J., but you never know. It’s gonna bring the best out of both of them. Just to have that chip on their shoulder to go out there and perform like their life depends on it.”
A 2024 first-round draft choice, McCarthy spent his entire rookie campaign recovering from a full meniscus repair. Injuries then limited him to just 10 starts this past season, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell clearly wanted to find at least some competition for McCarthy this offseason.
In Murray, the Vikings were able to sign a castoff to a one-year contract worth $1.3M because the Cardinals owed him $38M in fully guaranteed money for next season. Minnesota also brought veteran Carson Wentz back to the organization, but the Vikings reportedly “are not ready to give up on” McCarthy.
Jalen Nailor still believes in J.J. McCarthy
“He can be the guy for sure,” Nailor added about McCarthy. “I just feel like it’s a matter of him just still getting those reps in game and just building on what he did this past year. Just try to have a clean, healthy season. If he has a clean, healthy season, I think he’ll be fine. He has all the things.”
For McCarthy to get more meaningful in-game reps this fall, he first will have to win a competition that some outsiders feel has basically already been decided.