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The Minnesota Vikings won’t be giving up on J.J. McCarthy after a handful of starts this past 2025 season. However, one NFL analyst believes that despite the limited sample size on McCarthy, it’s time to cut the cord, as they cannot afford to go another season without playoff football, especially after Sam Darnold won Super Bowl LX.
As a result, Minnesota need to ponder what type of QB do they want to pursue this offseason. There’s the reliable backup who won’t threaten McCarthy for the job; the other option is a signal-caller who can challenge the Vikings’ young starter for the job; and the final choice is signing a QB who will clearly beat out McCarthy for the job.
The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen believes that Minnesota, who need to win now, are better off replacing McCarthy with a QB to help them contend in the 2026 season, rather than hoping the Michigan Wolverines product takes the next step in his development.
“I will say I don’t really think that J.J. McCarthy of it all is that interesting,” Klassen said on the Feb. 13 edition of The Athletic Football Show. “To me, it feels like you kind of have to move on. Like I would be trying to get away from this as quickly as possible.”
Vikings Find Themselves In a Troubling Situation
Meanwhile, on the same program, co-host Robert Mays noted that he doesn’t have faith in McCarthy. Still, he believes giving up on McCarthy after 10 games is a wild decision. However, understands the Vikings are in a tough position, where another repeat of the 2025 season would be catastrophic.
“I do not have a lot of faith in J.J. McCarthy based on what we have seen so far,” Mays said. “I also am willing to acknowledge that giving up on J.J. McCarthy after 10 games, just as an idea, is crazy. But there is a third stage to this. If you’re the Vikings, you can’t waste another season.
“Even if there is a chance that he rehabs and becomes a capable quarterback somewhere down the line, if you’re Minnesota and you’re Kevin O’Connell, you can live with that.
“You have to make sure that you’re getting something out of the 2026 season, even if that means you move on from J.J. McCarthy and he has a resurgence somewhere else in two years. I think all of those things, those three things together, can be true.”
Minnesota Urged to Avoid Two Veteran QBs
The speculation mill has linked Minnesota to veteran QBs like Derek Carr and Kirk Cousins. However, Vikings legend John Randle is warning the team not to pursue either of these two players this offseason.
“I’m not a big fan of Derek Carr,” Randle said on the Feb. 14 edition of Purple Daily. “I’m sorry. He retired, or he was saying he wanted to come back, then he retired on the guys. It’s like Kirk Cousins talking about Kirk Cousins coming back. I’m like, ‘Dude, we’ve been down that road. We want to move on from you.’
“You’re trying to say the right things, but you’re not bringing the right thing. You haven’t won, what, maybe one playoff game? I’m like, I want more. If it’s finding a quarterback, maybe he’s not that great of a quarterback, but a guy who can manage an offense. But we want somebody who can do that.”
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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