ESPN Just Put One Viking under Massive Pressure
The Minnesota Vikings have five games remaining in 2025 to finish a terrible campaign on a high note, and according to ESPN, quarterback J.J. McCarthy is under tremendous pressure along the way.
ESPN highlighted a Vikings quarterback as facing massive pressure in the final five games, placing the spotlight squarely on his performance and development.
McCarthy has struggled in his first season as a starter, prompting Bill Barnwell to raise his stakes for the home stretch of 2025.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Evidently Under the Gun
It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for McCarthy.
ESPN Posts ‘Under Pressure’ List; McCarthy’s Name Called
Barnwell name-dropped over a dozen players under the gun with the season winding down, and for the Vikings, the franchise got one mention: McCarthy.
He explained, “We’ve still seen only six starts from McCarthy, and there are plenty of eventually successful quarterbacks who didn’t look very good during the first six games of their careers. Then again, many of those signal-callers weren’t taking over 13-win teams, and the Vikings could be back in the playoff hunt in 2026 if they merely land a passer the caliber of Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones in free agency.”
“If McCarthy returns from his concussion and shows signs of growth over the final month of the season, the Vikings should field competition for their starting job in camp next year. If he continues to look overmatched upon his return to the lineup, though, the Vikings might move forward with a new plan at quarterback, consigning McCarthy to a backup role after just a handful of pro starts.”
It’s a month-long ticking clock for the 22-year-old.
Down to the Nitty Gritty in Year No. 2
McCarthy missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus, putting him behind the eight ball. Most expected the youngster to be more game-ready than most 22-year-olds, having sat and learned for one season.
Then, the 2025 season arrived, and McCarthy looked less game-ready than most 22-year-olds.
McCarthy is nearly halfway through his rookie contract, if one assumes that Minnesota won’t exercise his fifth-year option. Therefore, he has no time. He must play well to finish the season. Barnwell is right. He cannot bumble and blunder his way to a finish in 2025 and expect the Vikings to still stick by him as the unabashed QB1 in 2026.
Indeed, McCarthy is under pressure.
Performance to Date
McCarthy is trying to avoid a bust label, and right now, he’s failing that assignment. Through six starts, he sits at or near the bottom of the league in almost every efficiency metric. It’s not young-quarterback turbulence. It’s historically bad quarterback play across a small but meaningful sample.
There’s another odd twist to his return. Almost nobody expects him to look competent. Entering Week 14 with his return two days away, nobody’s really waiting for anything. The expectation is simple: he’ll struggle against Washington, and that’s the end of the story.
The bar for McCarthy has fallen hard over the last few weeks, and it’s because his play drove it there.
Contingency Plans in the Offseason
Suppose McCarthy does not barnstorm the NFL in the next five games. Minnesota will need a contingency — or a brand new starter for 2026.
The team could fire everybody and embark on a rebuild while drafting another rookie quarterback for the future. It could keep McCarthy and sign a high-end backup like Jimmy Garoppolo or Russell Wilson. The Vikings could potentially trade for Kyler Murray or Mac Jones. Or they can hand the baton to someone like Aaron Rodgers for a year and just sit on McCarthy indefinitely.
Two things are likely: a) Minnesota probably won’t outright release or trade McCarthy b) Minnesota almost certainly won’t enter the 2026 season without a 1B option to McCarthy as 1A.
More from Barnwell
Barnwell also noted on McCarthy, “When I was putting together the preseason version of this column, I included McCarthy as one of the candidates and suggested that a disappointing season for the rookie could lead the Vikings to bring in a veteran to compete with the 2024 first-round pick in 2026.”
“That might be the best-case scenario for McCarthy right now. While he has been sidelined for stretches by an ankle injury and a concussion this season, McCarthy hasn’t been anywhere close to an NFL-caliber quarterback in his appearances. By era-adjusted passer rating index, McCarthy’s 2025 season is the fourth worst in NFL history by a quarterback with 150 pass attempts or more.”
McCarthy has missed 82% of all regular season games as a member of the Vikings due to injuries.
“The guy just ahead of McCarthy is Alex Smith, who overcame an ugly rookie season to eventually become a Pro Bowler. And while Vikings fans were intrigued to see what Max Brosmer could do filling in for McCarthy this past weekend, he was even worse than the second-year pro,” Barnwell concluded.
If the season ended today, the Vikings would pick 11th in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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