Cris Carter Again Throws Shade at Vikings
A couple of weeks ago, Minnesota Vikings quarterback came within inches of leading a game-winning drive against the Chicago Bears. And while some former NFLers pounded the table for McCarthy’s performance that day, Hall of Famer Cris Carter was not impressed because McCarthy struggled throughout the contest.
Cris Carter is again throwing shade at the Minnesota Vikings, adding another pointed remark to his long line of critiques about the franchise.
Now, Carter is talking about the team’s head coach, claiming Kevin O’Connell is scared.
Cris Carter Is Back at It on the Vikings Criticism Circuit
The Hall of Famer thinks the team’s skipper is scared.
Carter Offers Unique Vikings Take
Carter hopped back onto the Vikings’ current events circuit this week. He told the Fully Loaded podcast, “I think Kevin O’Connell is scared to death. That’s what I think.”
“I think that last year, him being injured — he does not look like the guys that got drafted in the same class as him. Okay … Caleb Williams has 20 more starts than him, and it looks like it. So for me, if we’re being fair, we need to get at least double-digit starts in there. And then the Vikings are going to have to make a decision afterwards. Do we go on in year number three?”
Make no mistake: What to do with McCarthy during the 2026 offseason will be an unbelievably hot topic and might dominate every Vikings discussion.
Carter added about McCarthy’s long-term trajectory, “After what we’ve seen, we don’t know. Because he didn’t remove that. Typically, every quarterback, when they get out there, they have to remove the variable: can they play at this level? Can they learn? … Okay, I’m gonna have some success, but once the tape gets out to the whole league, guess what? No, you’re not an NFL quarterback. So they’re trying to find out, is he an NFL quarterback?”
It’s rather obvious amid the last few weeks that Carter doesn’t think McCarthy has long-term staying power.
Is Carter Right?
Of course, Carter’s assessment is bold, hard-hitting, and to the point.
But is it true?
His main contention is that O’Connell is flat-out scared, mainly because the Vikings said “no thanks” to three productive quarterbacks during the offseason: Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Aaron Rodgers. O’Connell trusted McCarthy to outperform that trio or at least not play like the worst quarterback in history through a player’s first six starts.
It’s unclear if O’Connell is scared, but he must be frustrated by McCarthy’s development. McCarthy was supposed to be much further along by now, especially after his redshirt year in 2024 with a torn meniscus.
O’Connell’s Legacy Tie to McCarthy, at Least Temporarily
O’Connell must empower McCarthy to reach a startable level as a QB1 or risk a reputational hit. McCarthy is not on that path as of November 2025, and in fact, McCarthy has all the makings of a bust. Injuries, poor performance, and more injuries on top of injuries.
The Vikings’ skipper has cooked with almost every quarterback not named McCarthy, so this whole situation will remain confusing until McCarthy suddenly gets his house in order — or O’Connell finds an escape hatch with another quarterback.
Thankfully, O’Connell has a built-in relief valve this weekend.
A Possible Outlet Valve This Sunday with Max Brosmer
On Sunday, barring a sudden change, undrafted rookie passer Max Brosmer will take the reins of O’Connell’s offense.
Brosmer performed well during training camp and in the preseason, breaking off pro-style throws and running O’Connell’s playbook efficiently. He turned heads among Vikings fans because no one expected him to look good. After all, 32 general managers passed on Brosmer during the draft.
Still, a productive outing for Brosmer could pump the brakes on O’Connell’s “scared” persona, as Carter described it. In fact, depending on how well Brosmer might play, Brosmer can be O’Connell’s saving grace. That is — if one assumes that Brosmer somehow creates a Brock Purdy lane for himself, no one will care too much about the early returns from McCarthy.
The narrative on Minnesota’s offseason quarterback decision-making can totally turn around this week if Brosmer balls out.
More on Carter’s Take
Sports Rush‘s Alex Murray opined on Carter’s critique, “From Carter’s perspective — and many others around the NFL, including fans and the media — McCarthy is ‘holding up’ what is an otherwise strong and talented team in Minnesota.”
“But as Carter also said, it’s too early to judge the Michigan product with any sort of certainty or finality. At the end of the day, McCarthy has started just six games. That’s not nearly enough run to tell firmly if a guy is the guy. But boy, we can certainly say that this start has been far from ideal. Among qualified QBs (with 150+ attempts) this season, McCarthy is either last or second last in the metrics.”
If McCarthy does not play at Seattle, he will have missed 79.3% of all eligible Vikings games due to injury through two seasons.
Murray added, “He is last in completions (86), last in completion percentage (54.1), second-last in yards (929), second-last in TDs (6), last in passer rating (and by some way, with his 57.9 mark sitting nearly 20 points below the next-worst number), and second-last in yards-per attempt (5.8). McCarthy has also thrown 10 picks (fourth-most) and has the highest INT rate (6.3) in football.”
“These numbers are so bad that when put next to Minnesota’s infamous No. 12 pick in 2011, QB Christian Ponder, they make Ponder look like Rookie of the Year material.”
We shall see what Carter says about Brosmer if Brosmer looks good in Week 13, if anything. Carter doesn’t often exalt the good parts of the Vikings’ operations. He shows up during ruts.
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