JJ McCarthy Among Big Losers in Mike Tomlin's Exit From Steelers

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Quarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.

Mike Tomlin sent shockwaves through the NFL on Tuesday when he stepped down from his job as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 seasons, and the ramifications could show up 100 different ways in a 100 different places.

One of the greatest impacts could be felt in the Minnesota Vikings quarterback room, where JJ McCarthy is going to be fighting for his job this offseason.

The butterfly effect in this situation could very well play out as follows:

Tomlin leaves Pittsburgh for another job or to take a year off and perhaps work in television, which has already happened.
Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah voice their intention to add to the depth chart under center and refuse to outright commit to McCarthy as the starter in 2026. This, also, has already happened.
Aaron Rodgers, the four-time MVP quarterback and former Super Bowl champion who grew close with Tomlin over his one with the Steelers and recently turned 42 years old, decides that if the head coach jumped ship less than 24 hours after the team’s first-round playoff exit, it might be time for him to look at new career options as well.
But Rodgers isn’t ready to retire, and the Vikings team he flirted with for a week or so last offseason is now looking for competition in its QB room to challenge the injury-prone and inconsistent McCarthy as he heads into his third season/age-23 campaign.
Minnesota makes some tough personnel decisions to get out from under their nearly $44 million salary cap deficit (as of Tuesday) and offers Rodgers something in the neighborhood of the $13.65 million he made in Pittsburgh last season to come take a swing at one more Super Bowl run before he hangs his cleats up for good.

Vikings Spoke With Aaron Rodgers Last Summer About Joining Team

GettyFormer Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin (left) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (right).

It wouldn’t have made much sense for Rodgers to go elsewhere if Tomlin was coming back to Pittsburgh for his 20th season. But the coach’s exit presumably renders Rodgers’ return far less likely.

If he doesn’t go back to the Steelers and he doesn’t retire, the Vikings can offer Rodgers a quality group of skill-position players led by superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson, an above-average defense and a head coach in O’Connell who Rodgers respects and with whom he already has a relationship.

“There was an opportunity when [Rodgers] and I connected just to kind of talk about, ‘Hey, what would that look like?’” O’Connell told KFAN in June. “We had a lot of great dialogue about it, but it was always centered around what was best not only for the present of the Minnesota Vikings organization, but the future.”

“I was very honest [with Rodgers] about my feelings toward [McCarthy], my obligation that I felt like we were going to give him the best possible situation to begin and thrive on this NFL journey,” O’Connell continued.

Kevin O’Connell Stated Flatly That Vikings Want Competition for JJ McCarthy in QB1 Role

GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.

However, O’Connell’s tune was significantly different on Tuesday following a second straight injury-riddled season for McCarthy, at times during which he looked entirely unplayable.

“I think there has to be [competition],” O’Connell said of the QB position. “I think that’s what’s gonna make everybody better in that room. It’s gonna be what makes our entire offense thrive.”

McCarthy went 6-4 as the starter in 2025, throwing for 1,632 yards, 11 TDs and 12 INTs (57.6 percent completion rate). He also rushed for 181 yards and four scores while missing seven and a half games with three different injuries: a high-ankle sprain, a concussion and a hairline fracture in his throwing hand.

If the Vikings had drafted McCarthy in 2023 and he had put up those numbers in 2024, Rodgers might have been a Viking last year. Thus, it makes sense Minnesota would consider that possibility again this offseason. If Rodgers is up for it, McCarthy could be looking at a QB2 role heading into 2026.

Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible