How J.J. McCarthy can reportedly win starting job over Kyler Murray

Numerous reports have hinted that free-agency signing Kyler Murray is the favorite to win the Minnesota Vikings' Week 1 starting quarterback job over 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy.

However, it sounds like Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell is truly keeping an open mind regarding the competition.

Vikings have not yet made major J.J. McCarthy decision

On Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated insisted that the Vikings have not "given up on McCarthy" despite the fact that they acquired Murray earlier this year. 

"Last year," Breer wrote, "[the Vikings] intended to give [McCarthy] competition, and Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones simply found a better opportunity to become long-term answers for teams elsewhere, so the Vikings pivoted and went all in on their second-year quarterback. It didn’t work out. But if they can find a way to get McCarthy playing faster and with more confidence, the full intention is there to give him a chance to beat out the more accomplished Murray. If that doesn’t happen, then we’ll get to see what Murray can do with a really strong supporting cast."

Darnold inked a three-year, $100.5M deal to join the Seattle Seahawks in March 2025, and he went on to guide the club to a Super Bowl win this past February. As for Jones, he joined an Indianapolis Colts team that was willing to give him an opportunity to win its QB1 gig in March 2025. More recently, the Colts signed Jones to a two-year, $88M contract that could be worth up to $100M this past March. 

As for Murray, he signed a one-year contract worth $1.3M to join the Vikings in March because the Arizona Cardinals owed him $38M in fully guaranteed money for the 2026 season. Thus, O'Connell and Co. have no financial reason to play Murray if McCarthy impresses during upcoming preseason games. 

Why Vikings felt they couldn't take J.J. McCarthy risk after 2025 season

"Minnesota’s core...is chock full of players squarely in the prime of their careers," Breer added. "That’s why the Vikings couldn’t possibly do again what they did last year and push all their chips in on McCarthy. For the sake of all those cornerstone players, Minnesota had to create options at quarterback, and did that in landing Murray in March."

Breer's update leads one to believe that McCarthy and Murray should receive plenty of reps across multiple exhibition games in August. It will be interesting to see which quarterback starts when Minnesota opens the preseason with a matchup at the New York Giants on Aug. 15.