Matt Johnson
The Minnesota Vikings came out of the offseason planning to hold a true competition between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray to determine who will be the starting quarterback in Week 1. Thus far, it’s been a one-sided battle.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported from Vikings OTAs that the gap between Murray and McCarthy this week was “not close'” at all. While this was the first OTA session open to the media, Murray and McCarthy received equal opportunities.
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A majority of people around the league viewed it as a foregone conclusion that Murray would be named the Vikings’ starting quarterback this season. However, Minnesota’s coaching staff and front office had stated repeatedly that both signal-callers had an even shot at the job.
While McCarthy is the one who entered with rapport with the Vikings’ receivers and two years of experience in Kevin O’Connell’s system, it’s been the former Arizona Cardinals quarterback who is making the strongest impression on everyone.
“Murray made all of the best throws of the practice, demonstrating his downfield touch and accuracy.”
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert on the performance of Minnesota Vikings QB Kyler Murray during OTAs
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Murray, who turns 29 in August, hasn’t earned a Pro Bowl selection since the 2021 season with Arizona. However, he’s still outperformed McCarthy on the field.
In 2025, Murray put up an 88.6 passer rating with a 68.3 percent completion rate, a 3.7 percent touchdown rate and a 1.9 percent interception rate on 161 pass attempts. By comparison, McCarthy had a 72.6 passer rating with a 57.6 percent completion rate, a 4.5 percent touchdown rate and a 4.9 percent interception rate on 243 attempts last year.
Comments made to reporters during OTAs also served as a comparison between the two quarterbacks. While Murray talked about both mentoring the younger quarterback and how much he was embracing the experience in Minnesota, McCarthy offered a far stranger answer.
“Awkwardness? It’s just like the same feeling when you’re in high school and there’s another person on the other side of the room. That’s just kind of how it is. I wouldn’t say there’s any awkwardness.”
Minneota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy on if there is awkwardness with Kyler Murray
What’s clear after a few days of Vikings OTAs is that Murray is the superior option right now, and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon. What will be more interesting late in the summer is seeing whether veteran Carson Wentz potentially overtakes McCarthy to become the Vikings’ top backup.
If that were to happen and McCarthy falls into the third-string quarterback role, it’s not out of the question to think the agent for the former first-round pick starts exploring options outside of Minnesota.
