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(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings are set for a quarterback competition to decide their Week 1 starter, featuring J. J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Kyler Murray.
Although no game action has been taken yet, Murray is currently viewed as the frontrunner. Still, he’ll need to prove himself in practice and the preseason to show he can lead the Vikings back to the playoffs after missing the postseason last campaign following a 9-8 record.
Murray is looking for a fresh start after the Arizona Cardinals decided to cut ties with him this offseason. Moreover, the former No. 1 pick will be looking to be the next QB to benefit from having Kevin O’Connell coach him, as Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold did.
During the March 31 edition of “PFT Live,” O’Connell shared what he told McCarthy when the team knew that they wanted to sign Murray to come in and help elevate their QB room.
“I was honest with him,” O’Connell said. “I said ‘We are going to elevate the room as a whole’… We know that there’s a standard to playing that position, that we need, through a competitive environment, get all of our QB’s to play to that standard, and when we do that we’re gonna win football games.”
Vikings Give Big Update on J.J. McCarthy Before QB Battle
Following a rollercoaster 2025 season, the Vikings are forcing McCarthy to earn the job, and Kevin Seifert of ESPN shared what head coach Kevin O’Connell said regarding the latest on the young QB’s efforts to do just that.
“Kevin O’Connell said that J.J. McCarthy is back in Minnesota after spending the early part of the offseason training in California, and has been in the building most days working out in the weight room,” Seifert wrote on March 30 on X.
McCarthy posted a 61.8 overall PFF grade during the 2025 season, ranking 35th among 43 qualified quarterbacks. His passing grade was 60.1, ranking 35th at the position. Across 1,632 snaps played and 291 dropbacks, he totaled 1,632 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Cardinals HC Doesn’t Hold Back on Kyler Murray Exit
After a foot injury ended his 2025 season, the Cardinals decided it was time for both parties to part ways. On March 30, the team’s new head coach, Mike LaFleur, spoke about Murray’s exit from Arizona.
“It’s one of those things that sometimes it’s just good for both parties to part ways, if you will,” LaFleur told reporters (h/t Bo Brack of PHNX Cardinals). “So again, we wish him the best. He had a lot of success here.
“I know when I was on the other sideline, [Murray] was a problem. And again, wish him all the success, but we felt like this was the best thing moving forward.”
It will be interesting to see which of the three QBs comes out with the starting job. Nonetheless, if Murray does come in motivated after how his situation ended with the Cardinals, he could be the guy who takes the job and lives up to the potential Arizona saw when it took him with the first overall selection in 2019.
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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