Even if J.J. McCarthy keeps getting better this spring, Kyler Murray could still pull ahead of him by getting more comfortable in Minnesota’s passing game. That’s the impression after the first media-open OTA.
From the first open practice, Kyler Murray already looks to be ahead of J.J. McCarthy. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted the difference “was not close,” with Murray making the top throws of the day and showing more confidence in his deep ball.
According to Seifert, even if McCarthy keeps improving like he did late last season, it might not be enough to catch up with Murray’s experience and arm strength.
Murray didn’t shy away from addressing it either. When asked about his mindset heading into camp, he summed it up simply: “My confidence is unshakeable.”
Murray’s contract takes pressure off the Vikings
Arizona cut him while still owing more than $30 million in guaranteed money for 2026, and Minnesota brought him in at the league minimum of $1.3 million. Without a big salary tied to him, the Vikings don’t have to force Murray into a starting role. It gives them the flexibility to let talent and performance decide who wins the job.
McCarthy, 23, went 6-4 in 10 starts in 2025 but struggled and missed time with injuries after losing his entire rookie year to a preseason injury. Availability is its own skill, and he has not had much of it.
He has also had accuracy issues with a fastball-heavy style that limits the layered, intermediate throws Kevin O’Connell’s offence is built on. To his credit, one of his few incompletions at the open practice, a near-interception by Byron Murphy Jr., came when two receivers drifted too close together rather than on a bad read.
Summer battles will tell the full story
Despite the growing pressure around him, McCarthy’s remained even-keeled when speaking to the media.
He said he sees it as just two players trying to learn and improve together and believes Murray was brought in simply to help strengthen the overall depth chart. And from everything he’s been told by the staff, this really is an open contest.
McCarthy needs time to narrow the operational gap. Letting him get there would give Murray more reps with Justin Jefferson and the first-team offensive line, allowing experience to translate into rhythm.
The sharper test arrives in training camp, when defensive coordinator Brian Flores starts sending disguised pressures at both quarterbacks in pads, the exact environment that exposes timing and decision-making.
The Vikings can keep calling it a true competition. The next month will show whether McCarthy can make it one.
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