Kevin O’Connell still has to answer why the Minnesota Vikings haven’t officially named J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback while Aaron Rodgers is still available. This was the message during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio when he was asked about reports suggesting that McCarthy is going a little slow in terms of his rehabilitation and whether he’s ready to be announced as QB1.
“Well, J.J.’s doing great. Yeah, not entirely sure where a lot of those reports were coming from. What I can say is once he went on IR and his season was over, we were gonna be very smart about that progression through the fact that we had a lot of time. We had time on task to make sure that he could not only start the offseason program in a great spot, but be healthy and have a real chance to grow and maximize these nine weeks to set himself up to have a great training camp. So, as far as that anointing word you just used (starting quarterback), I’m just excited to get out and start coaching up the 2025 version of the Minnesota Vikings.”
The Vikings are favorites to reach the Super Bowl with a stacked roster led by Justin Jefferson. However, the big question is whether McCarthy can replicate what Sam Darnold did last season.
Who will be Vikings’ starting quarterback?
J.J. McCarthy will be the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings but, in a surprising move, head coach Kevin O’Connell has resisted giving him the official title. His argument is that it’s too early for that and, at the moment, the designation is irrelevant.
“I know his teammates are excited. We’ll get on the grass with those guys starting next week and we’re going to go to work. But, he’s had a phenomenal offseason (McCarthy), really taking advantage of the fact that he had that medical type of redshirt year where he could see a guy like Sam Darnold in his first year in the offense grow from Day 1 to the very finish of that season. A lot to watch and admire about what Sam did, but a lot to learn as well as he goes to apply it to his opportunity this year.”