J.J. McCarthy gets more bad news amid competition with Kyler Murray for starting job

For better or for worse, people within the Minnesota Vikings have seemingly wanted it known for months that the club is serious about giving 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy a legitimate chance to win the starting job via a summer competition with free-agency signing Kyler Murray.

As has been the case throughout the spring, reporters aren't buying what the Vikings are selling. 

Kyler Murray still the favorite to emerge as the Vikings' QB1

On Wednesday night, Vikings reporter Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote that the odds "feel dramatically tilted in Murray’s direction" at this point of the team's offseason program. 

"Murray, picked No. 1 in 2019 by the Arizona Cardinals, showcased his feel as a passer with several touch throws," Lewis continued. "Then, after practice, when speaking to local media in person for the first time, Murray’s answers oozed with comfort and conviction."

Specifically, Murray told reporters that his "confidence is unshakable." Meanwhile, McCarthy compared working with Murray to being taught "in a classroom."

"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," McCarthy responded when asked to elaborate on the situation, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. "That's just kind of how it is. I wouldn't say there's any awkwardness."

Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk is also among those who have said that Murray is the favorite to win the Minnesota job after the former Arizona starter signed a one-year, $1.3M contract to join the Vikings in free agency. Minnesota allegedly doesn't want to fully give up on McCarthy, and he insisted on Wednesday that he has been told he's in "a true competition."

That may be the case, but Lewis pointed out that "it would not have taken long Wednesday for any casual observer to recognize Murray’s immense talent." McCarthy failed to showcase such talent across the first 10 regular-season starts of his young career. 

Was J.J. McCarthy disappointed that the Vikings signed Kyler Murray?

On Wednesday, McCarthy was asked if he was disappointed that the Vikings acquired Murray. 

"Then I would be disappointed if the rain fell," McCarthy answered. "That's out of my control, and at the end of the day, I just got to focus on what I can do to be the best quarterback for the football team."

That's all well and good, but some suggested in March that McCarthy ultimately could request a trade if he ends the preseason as Minnesota's QB2. Understandably, he seems uninterested in addressing how he may respond to such a development ahead of June. 

"The organization made a decision that they feel like is going to improve the depth and the quality of the room, and they feel like they made that decision," McCarthy added during his comments. "All I'm thinking about is continuing the upward trajectory that I set for myself last season, that last quarter of the season, and continuing to be the best version of me every single day."

The harsh truth of the matter is that the best version of McCarthy may struggle to keep up with the best version of Murray through the end of August.