J.J. McCarthy made it clear he remains committed to the Vikings after Kyler Murray was named Minnesota’s Week 1 starter.
The Minnesota Vikings announced Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback for Week 1, meaning former top-10 pick J.J. McCarthy will enter the season as a backup for the first time in his NFL career.
He missed the entirety of his rookie season with an injury, but eventually became Minnesota’s primary starter last season. And while there were certainly some ups and downs, McCarthy did show enough flashes to suggest that he could still be the quarterback of the future in Minnesota.
But for now, Murray has earned that spot.
And McCarthy was asked about his place on the depth chart this week and gave a phenomenal answer, and really one that the Vikings should be very happy to hear given the way he is approaching the situation.
Just one day after Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell named Murray the Week 1 starter, McCarthy spoke to reporters about the decision and made it clear that he still wants to be in Minnesota. He acknowledged that competition is always welcome and part of the game, and that he is hyper-focused on continuing to improve and being ready whenever his opportunity comes.
And given his standing within the organization as a high draft pick who still has every opportunity to potentially step in and start at some point this season, and really still become the franchise’s quarterback of the future, the maturity from McCarthy is impressive.
"Like I've said before, this is the place I want to be," McCarthy said. "I love every single person in this building. I love this state. I love the fan base. I'm going to continue to just do whatever I can for this team and this organization."
He’s had some big moments in a Vikings uniform. The issue has often been staying healthy and finding consistency, but some of the upside that he has shown is tremendous.
Murray won the starting job for now because of his leadership, experience and the fact that Minnesota wants to be a playoff team right now. And at this point, the Vikings clearly believe that Murray gives them the best chance to do that entering Week 1. But that doesn’t mean McCarthy won’t get another opportunity.
There’s a high likelihood that at some point he takes back over, whether that’s temporarily because of an injury or permanently if Minnesota decides to make a change at quarterback.
And so for now, he’s Murray’s backup, which probably isn’t where McCarthy expected to be heading into this season, especially given where he was drafted and what the expectations were for him coming into the league.
It’s a complicated situation, but McCarthy appears to be taking the right approach. At least publicly, he remains fully committed to the Vikings, locked in on getting better and prepared to wait for another chance.
