Vikings reportedly still have this J.J. McCarthy hope amid Kyler Murray reports

As recently as Monday, it was suggested that free-agency signing Kyler Murray is the favorite to emerge as the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback over 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy. 

On Tuesday, NFL insider Dan Graziano of ESPN shared why outsiders shouldn't assume that McCarthy has taken the final in-game regular-season snap of his Minnesota tenure.

Vikings "hope" J.J. McCarthy will come from behind to beat Kyler Murray in competition?

"If McCarthy reacts to being thrust into a competition the way the Vikings hope he does, he could end up starting games for them this season," Graziano explained. "He's also under contract for 2027, whereas Murray is not (and Murray's contract includes a no-franchise tag provision). Sure, it's possible Murray thrives in [head coach Kevin O'Connell's] offense while McCarthy crumbles. But either outcome is far from a sure thing. There's a long way to go before the start of the 2026 season, let alone the end of it. And on some level at least, the Vikings hope there's still a long way to go in McCarthy's NFL story."

One report that claimed neither Murray nor McCarthy "performed drastically better than the other" during springtime workouts could lead Minnesota fans to fear that neither signal-caller is the club's long-term answer. That said, McCarthy is still an unproven commodity who has just 10 career regular-season starts on his resume. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals happily gave up on Murray earlier this year. 

A previous Arizona regime made Murray the first overall pick of the 2019 draft and later signed him to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed in the summer of 2022. He suffered a serious knee injury in December 2022, and he made just five starts last season before he was shut down due to a foot issue.

Vikings know Kyler Murray may not be "a perfect solution?"

"McCarthy could prove to be the better option in camp," Graziano added. "If that happens, the players on the roster will see that and buy into the decision. You could make the case that the best outcome for the Vikings is for McCarthy to win the job and become the player they thought he could be when they moved up to draft him. But even if that doesn't happen in camp, Murray is far from a perfect solution, which is why the Cardinals are paying him $36M this year to play for someone else."

In short, it sounds like those thinking the Vikings may trade McCarthy this summer if Murray wins the starting job could be proven wrong. After all, history shows that the Vikings can't afford to assume that Murray will remain healthy and available from Week 1 through early January 2027.