Familiar Voice Wonders if J.J. McCarthy Is on His Way Out
J.J. McCarthy can orchestrate game-winning drives as a rookie, but the 22-year-old hasn’t figured out the rest of a quarterback’s job description through five career starts. So, a woman who is no stranger to Vikings quarterback discourse, Dianna Russini, now questions whether McCarthy will be with the franchise at all in 2026.
A familiar voice is now wondering whether Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy could be on his way out, adding fuel to growing speculation.
Russini led the charge for the Aaron-Rodgers-to-Vikings rumor mill in March and April, and now has begun the same process of paving an off-ramp for McCarthy from the Twin Cities.
Dianna Russini Claims J.J. McCarthy Could Be Gone Soon
That escalated quickly.
Russini on McCarthy as a Possible Short-Timer
Russini joined the Hoge and Jahns Show this week, ready and willing to talk about McCarthy.
“I think the question we gotta start asking … is J.J. McCarthy going to be a Minnesota Viking quarterback next season? We gotta wonder,” she said.
To date, most have wondered whether the Vikings sign, trade for, or draft a quarterback next offseason to compete with McCarthy in the summer — not get rid of him altogether.
Russini continued, “I think a lot of us were looking at it like ‘Maybe don’t believe in him just yet.’ Like, it’s fine that you believe in him, but for right now, the way this roster is constructed, it’s built to win. Like, just pay Sam, or go bring in Aaron Rodgers. Bring in someone because J.J. McCarthy is coming off a significant injury, and he just doesn’t have the reps, the practice reps. Forget the game. The practice reps, that’s just such a big risk.”
“But Kevin O’Connell was such a good coach that I think they were willing to roll the dice on it and be like, ‘Alright, he can get the best out of him.’ And they loved what he was about, in terms of the work ethic. All the stuff I heard behind the scenes like of J.J. in the summer was just like, he’s blown the doors off the coaching staff and even the players.”
A Slap in the Face to Quarterback Development
Suppose Russini is onto something: Minnesota sees enough of McCarthy to cancel the relationship beyond this season. It would go against what Kevin O’Connell has preached for four years, and place the Vikings in a familiar spot: scouring every nook and cranny of the NFL for a productive retread quarterback following a failed draft pick.
O’Connell famously declared a year ago that NFL franchises fail young quarterbacks — like McCarthy — before young quarterbacks like McCarthy fail NFL franchises. If Russini has this theory right, it will mean that O’Connell did not believe his own declaration, and he will be a part of an organization that fell victim to the trap he preached against.
Similar Pot-Stirring Earlier This Year
Remember — Russini was the writer-analyst who led the charge for Aaron Rodgers to the Vikings.
Weekly — perhaps daily — she floated and reiterated the likelihood that Rodgers would land in Minnesota. Months later, when the truth came out, Rodgers and O’Connell separately told reporters that Rodgers to Minnesota was never really a thing beyond some conversations.
When asked about the reporting later in the summer, Russini said she had mentioned the Rodgers theory on one single podcast one time and that Vikings fans unjustly freaked out about it.
In reality, she mentioned the idea repeatedly, almost becoming a defining shtick of 2025.
It’s All up to McCarthy
For the next two months, the onus is solely on McCarthy to improve. He cannot play like a buffoon every game and then turn on the jets for the final offensive drive. The league doesn’t work that way.
McCarthy must raise his completion percentage over 60.0% in the next seven games, channel some consistency, and correct his mechanics in real time to avoid the Russinis of the NFL world from spreading likeminded theories throughout January, February, and March.
Somewhat straightforwardly, McCarthy can bat away a quarterback controversy if he just plays at an average efficiency clip to end the season. Minnesota doesn’t need supernatural, Pro Bowl performance; it needs growth, poise, and the willingness to get better.
This is basically a translation to completed passes, The “easy” ones.
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