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The perception exists that\u00a0free-agency signing\u00a0<\/span>Kyler Murray<\/a>\u00a0is the overwhelming favorite to emerge as the Minnesota Vikings’<\/a>\u00a0starting quarterback over 2024 first-round draft pick\u00a0<\/span>J.J. McCarthy<\/a> later this summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That said, one May\u00a0<\/span><\/span>report<\/span><\/span><\/a> revealed that the Vikings’ “hope is bringing in Murray sends some sort of shock to McCarthy’s system and gets him refocused on whatever they think he got away from last year.” For a mailbag published on Friday, Vikings reporter Alec Lewis<\/a> of The Athletic was asked to share the aspects of McCarthy’s game the signal-caller needs to improve between now and the end of August.\u00a0<\/p>\n “McCarthy\u2019s accuracy, his touch and his consistency. Each warrants elaboration,” Lewis wrote. “The young quarterback\u2019s ball placement wavered throughout the 2025 season, and coach Kevin O\u2019Connell often attributed the inaccuracies to McCarthy\u2019s footwork. McCarthy spent weeks with private throwing coach John Beck to smooth over some of these issues. The lack of touch coincides with McCarthy\u2019s lack of precision as a passer in 2025. He uncorked passes on a line. When the Vikings drafted McCarthy, they knew this area of his game needed work.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n McCarthy spent his entire rookie campaign recovering from a\u00a0<\/span>full meniscus repair.<\/a> According to Pro Football Reference,<\/a> he then ended the 2025 regular season ranked 30th in the league among qualified players with a 35.6 adjusted QBR, last with a 72.6 passer rating and last with a 57.6 percent completion percentage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Needless to say, O\u2019Connell and Co. determined such production wasn’t good enough before they added Murray to the Vikings’ quarterback room earlier this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n A previous report<\/span><\/a>\u00a0suggested that McCarthy had trouble understanding “the more elemental aspects of being the face of a franchise” last season. Lewis hinted that McCarthy’s work behind the scenes throughout 2025 left much to be desired.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Then there\u2019s the consistency piece,” Lewis continued. “How McCarthy shows up to work every day and how his habits progress in his third season. The Vikings have a high standard at the position. They want the starting quarterback to lift the tide for the entire team in 2026. This requires a level of discipline, which was up and down last season for McCarthy.”\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The good news for McCarthy is that the Vikings allegedly<\/a> won’t give up on him before he receives an opportunity to truly compete with Murray through at least a portion of training camp. However, questions about McCarthy’s future in Minnesota will grow only louder if he ends the preseason as the club’s QB2.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy there’s some hope J.J. McCarthy may have fixed his footwork<\/h2>\n
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J.J. McCarthy didn’t meet the Vikings’ standards in this way<\/h2>\n
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