Are you sure about that, Tom?
NFL insider Tom Pelissero joined the Rich Eisen Show and discussed Jauan Jennings' fit with the Vikings. Of course, no Vikings discussion would be complete without a question about the quarterback position, Kyler Murray, and J.J. McCarthy.
First, what did Pelissero say about Jennings signing a one-year deal with Minnesota and the role envisioned for the veteran receiver?
"When they had him on a visit, it immediately raises questions about, okay, are they planning to move on from Jordan Addison? Like, why would he come to Minnesota? It's a one-year, $8 million deal. He can earn up to 13 million with incentives. All right. He was the free agent left on the market, other than Aaron Rodgers, who was going to make the most money somewhere.
So the Vikings end up getting him at what can only be called a cut rate at this stage in the off-season. The vision, as I understand it, is Jauan Jennings effectively will fill the Jalen Naylor role. He had a lot of productivity, cashed in on a big deal with the Raiders in free agency. It does not bear on Jordan Addison or Justin Jefferson.
They envision the three of those guys- Right ... all being out there along with T.J. Hockenson, um, and hav- having a really diverse passing game for whichever quarterback- Yeah ... ends up starting."
Whichever quarterback ends up starting? Here is what Pelissero is hearing about Murray and McCarthy.
"My understanding has been, and I will continue to say this, Rich, we got OTAs getting going in a couple weeks, that'll tell us more about what the actual landscape of this is going to be.
But they envision it being a true competition, Kyler Murray versus J.J. McCarthy, and both these guys are gonna go into this believing they're gonna win this job. You know, I don't know frankly how friendly that quarterback room is going to be. It is going to be a very competitive, uh, quarterback room.
They are two players that have some things in common in terms of their skill set. You know, nobody moves like Kyler, but J.J.'s got good mobility, as you know well, Rich from watching him at, at Michigan."
"But Kyler comes in.
Listen, he, he hasn't played in this offense. J.J.'s got two years in it. It's been a roller coaster ride. There's been some really good moments. There's been some not so good moments, and there have been a ton of injuries. Kyler also has dealt with injuries i- in recent years, you know, since the, the torn ACL, and then obviously last year, uh, with the foot injury they never made it back from.
It's gonna be interesting to watch these guys duke it out because you've got J.J. who's got at least a foundation in the offense. You've got Kyler, who has shown ability. He's been to Pro Bowls. He's been to the playoffs. Uh, he's only 28 years old. Um, this to me is gonna be the most fascinating quarterback competition in the NFL.
And from everything that I have understood, it is truly wide open. They're keeping an open mind as a coaching staff. We'll see what direction it goes."
Honestly, it makes sense to hear this about the "competition." You can't afford to lose McCarthy mentally if Murray implodes. Competition brings out the best in the people and the Vikings know the value of labeling the situation properly.