This J.J. McCarthy Take Might Melt Your Screen
If you like hot takes, ProFootballTalk.com has one for you.
One of the spiciest J.J. McCarthy takes yet debuted over the weekend — and it’s quite out there, even for offseason standards. Try not to roll your eyes.
PFT’s Mike Florio named every NFL quarterback on the hot seat last weekend, and mind-bogglingly, Minnesota Vikings signal-caller J.J. McCarthy was included on the list.
McCarthy hasn’t even attempted a regular season pass in his young career.
J.J. McCarthy Feeling the Heat, Says PFT
It’s apparently a put-up-or-shut-up year for McCarthy.
Mike Florio Says J.J. McCarthy Is on the Hot Seat
In fairness to Florio, 16 quarterbacks made the cut on his hot seat list, also known as half of the NFL’s starters.
On McCarthy, he wrote, “He’s getting his shot to play, after a knee injury wiped out his rookie season. Anything other than an outright disaster will ensure his status for 2026. At worst, he’d have to compete with a more established veteran next year.”
You can bookmark it as the first notable spot — anywhere — that McCarthy found placement on a hot seat. That doesn’t usually occur for 22-year-old quarterbacks who haven’t played a down of NFL football.
Newsflash: McCarthy Is Not on the Hot Seat
Introducing McCarthy into the mix with a toasty seat is the ultimate sign of the Digital Age. The news cycle moves so fast that McCarthy apparently has to prove his worth beyond a reasonable doubt in Year No. 1 as a starter or risk Anthony Richardson or Will Levis treatment — men left for dead in the arena of quarterback development.
But Minnesota won’t do this, not with McCarthy. Head coach Kevin O’Connell will empower and cultivate McCarthy, even if it takes more than one season. O’Connell has famously spoken about organizations failing quarterbacks before quarterbacks fail organizations.
“I just think, as a whole, there’s not enough emphasis put on the organization’s role in the development of the position, meaning I believe that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations,” O’Connell said last fall.
He won’t mail it on McCarthy, and McCarthy is not a hot seat.
Other Vikings on the Hot Seat?
That doesn’t mean, however, that every Vikings player is safe.
These players could fetch the hot seat label this summer or in the regular season:
- Ty Chandler (RB)
- Jalen Nailor (WR)
- Ryan Wright (P)
Chandler and Nailor enter the final years of their contracts, and Wright must provide consistency for the long haul.
Sam Darnold Gets the Same Treatment Out in Seattle
Florio also tabbed Sam Darnold, who led Minnesota last year, with the same criterion.
“He has a one-year deal, as a practical matter. And the Seahawks seem to really like rookie Jalen Milroe. Darnold will need to play very well to secure his status for 2026,” Florio mentioned.
Darnold is on the hot seat because his contract is easily offloadable if he struggles, Milroe was chosen with 3rd-Round draft stock, and Darnold must prove that his 2024 production wasn’t a mirage.
Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence on Legitimate Hot Seats
Florio also put Miami Dolphins passer Tua Tagovailoa on the hot seat and explained, “His contract guarantees his pay through 2026. If the Dolphins fall flat and change coaches, the next coach likely will want a fresh start at quarterback. While the cap charges will complicate a split before 2027, every high-end quarterback contract eventually leads to a big cap charge when the relationship ends.”
“The next coach (and the next G.M., if owner Stephen Ross cleans house) may want to rip the Band-Aid off in one motion.”
This one makes a hell of a lot more sense than McCarthy.
And on Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, Florio opined, “Every new coach wants his own quarterback, except when the coach inherits a true franchise quarterback. But Tony Dungy landing with Peyton Manning doesn’t happen very often. And it’s not clear whether Lawrence is a short-list franchise quarterback. He was on track to be one as of 2022.”
“The past two years haven’t been good enough, long-term contract notwithstanding. What do coach Liam Coen and G.M. James Gladstone want? If Lawrence doesn’t play better in 2025 than he did in 2024, Lawrence and everyone else may find out in 2026.”
Lawrence may be on a reputational hot seat, but he signed a $275 million extension in June 2024. He’s not going anywhere.
Beloved Ex-Viking Wants Back In
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