Unnecessary Drama Kicks off Vikings Summer
Second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy will lead the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, and his first regular season game is less than 14 weeks away.
A strange report about Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy arrived in the first week of June, just as Minnesota embarked on OTAs.
But inside his maiden voyage season as a starter, the young passer won’t escape a bizarre controversy, a snowballed set of reports that claimed the Vikings didn’t necessarily want the man to have the QB1 job this season.
McCarthy, 22, must weather a mini-barrage of puzzling headlines.
The Strange J.J. McCarthy Headline
If you search any variation of Minnesota Vikings, Vikings, or Vikings News on Google this week, within the first couple of results pages, a headline is present: Vikings Reportedly Concerned With JJ McCarthy.
The article is from Newsweek, and writer Evan Massey published the following: “There are many reasons why the team may not be completely sold on McCarthy. First and foremost, he has never played an NFL regular-season snap.”
“Last season, McCarthy was unavailable for the entire year due to a knee injury that he suffered in the preseason. He missed a lot of valuable time in 2024. Without seeing what he can do on the field, there is no guarantee that Minnesota will see him become a legitimate starter in 2025. There is a lot riding on his ability to step in and play at a high level, but the Vikings cannot be guaranteed to see him succeed.”
Massey’s text isn’t fiery — but the headline implies that the Vikings are worried about their quarterback arrangement.
Massey added, “It will be interesting to watch the Vikings and McCarthy early on during the 2025 campaign. His first three career starts, assuming he does win the job, will come on the road against the Chicago Bears and then at home against the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.”
“Fans won’t have to wait too long to find out what McCarthy is made of in his second season. Hopefully, he’s ready to rise to the occasion and prove himself to be a capable starter.”
Of course, the Newsweek headline and its explosive connotation led to other NFL-themed social media accounts to run with takes like this — a sort of domino effect:
Where the McCarthy Drama Started
So, where did the Newsweek theory begin? SKOR North’s Mackey and Judd Show.
That popular Minnesota sports program featured former NFL offensive lineman and current analyst Ross Tucker on Monday, and he provided the McCarthy question mark.
Tucker told Mackey and Judd, “No matter what the Vikings say about J.J. McCarthy, how much they love him, and you know, ‘he’s the guy,’ they wanted Sam Darnold back. And then, when they weren’t going to get Darnold back, they wanted Daniel Jones back. Right?”
“They were offering these guys pretty darn good money. So, as much as they’re sold on J.J. McCarthy, they weren’t that sold, right? They offered these guys over $10 million bucks a year to come and be their quarterback for this year or at least give them that option. So, they have some doubt there about McCarthy and how ready he’ll be, especially early.”
Here’s the clip:
The Direct Opposite of Vikings Owner Said 2 Weeks Ago
The problem? Through the Vikings’ actions and words, everything about McCarthy this spring and summer is the opposite of Newsweek‘s publication and Tucker’s comments.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell, and about a half-dozen players have heaped praise on McCarthy, touting his personality, grit on the field, performance at OTAs, and leadership capability.
Owner Mark Wilf said two weeks ago about McCarthy, “He has a gravitational pull as a leader, he really does. I think the way the players support him, I think it’s of course the talent is there. Coach O’Connell is glowing in his praises of how he’s handled everything to date. And from an off-the-field perspective, we couldn’t be happier.”
Those are not the words of an owner iffy about his quarterback. He is not “concerned” about McCarthy.
Evidence Shows Vikings Wanted McCarthy as QB1
If Minnesota didn’t want McCarthy in the starting quarterback role this summer, he would be in the middle of a budding quarterback competition.
Adofo-Mensah could’ve ponied up the cash to retain Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones. Neither man would’ve broken the bank to the tune of top-tier quarterback money. Instead, Minnesota let those players walk to the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
And then there’s Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers allegedly pitched the Vikings brass for a one-year sprint at the Super Bowl, and after careful deliberation, Minnesota declined because it trusted McCarthy.
Had Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell possessed legitimate fears about McCarthy, they would’ve signed Rodgers for one year and let McCarthy simmer on the bench in 2025. It’s really that simple.
They didn’t do that. The evidence couldn’t be clearer.
Beware of Headline Skimming
The text of Massey’s article is sound. Tucker provided a new take on Minnesota’s free-agency thought process. Both information sets are healthy for June discourse.
It’s the title —Vikings Reportedly Concerned With JJ McCarthy — that could mislead the masses.
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