Tom Brady Issues Stark Warning to Vikings Fans
It will take a long time for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy to even remotely resemble a finished product.
Tom Brady issued an undercover warning to Vikings fans this week, drawing attention across the NFL. Here’s what the legendary quarterback said.
That’s the word from Tom Brady, widely regarded as the best football player of all time, who attended the same college as McCarthy.
Brady preached patience on McCarthy’s development last week, a warning fans should take into account.
Tom Brady’s Warning to Vikings Fans Turns Heads
Brady wants you to be patient with Minnesota’s new quarterback.
Tom Brady Preaches Patience on J.J. McCarthy
Brady spoke with Sunday Night Football‘s Cris Collinsworth, a former NFLer, last week, and among many topics, including Brady’s role as a commentator, he talked about McCarthy.
“They’re expecting J.J. to come and play at that level that Sam Darnold did. But I think that’s a lot to ask a young player. In my second year, I wasn’t the same quarterback that I was in Year 7 or Year 8. I was way better in 2007 than when I was in 2001 when I took over,” Brady said.
“These years of development, they all add up, and I think it’s a bit unfair to create unrealistic expectations for a quarterback in his second year. But of course, Minnesota Vikings fans are going to have those expectations because of how high a pick he is. He’s got a lot to prove.”
Brady and McCarthy have been casually linked over the last couple of years because of the Michigan connection.
Unsurprisingly, Brady Is Right
It may not be groundbreaking, but Brady is absolutely correct.
McCarthy hasn’t taken an NFL snap at the time of this article’s publication, getting his career off the ground on Monday Night Football on September 8th at the Chicago Bears. He’ll make mistakes in that game, the 16 after that, and for his few years of development.
Some folks lack patience for quarterback development, expecting players to thrive in the NFL instantly, but that’s just not reasonable. Brady personally took years to turn into “the goat.”
In fact, during his first championship run, his defense, powered by Bill Belichick, largely carried the Patriots.
Standards Set High by Recent Young QBs
Why must Brady warn about patience in the first place? Easy. Other quarterbacks, like Jayden Daniels in 2024, C.J. Stroud the year before that, Justin Herbert in 2020, and Patrick Mahomes eight years ago, set the standard remarkably high.
So when a rookie, or second-year passer in McCarthy’s case, doesn’t fit the profile immediately, a fan base might daydream about a different option while leaving their youngster for dead.
For example, consider Josh Allen. The league MVP produced 10 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his rookie season. Put plainly, in that specific season (2018), he played average, at best. Fast forward seven years, and the man is a Top 3 quarterback, accompanied by Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, who have all undergone seven years or more worth of maturation.
Kevin O’Connell Has Preached the Long Haul, Too
Thankfully, the Vikings head coach, Kevin O’Connell, agrees with Brady.
O’Connell once notably said that NFL organizations fail quarterbacks before quarterbacks fail organizations — and he meant it. McCarthy could probably play dreadfully, on the whole, in 2025, and O’Connell would remain by McCarthy’s side through thick or thin.
If McCarthy balls out in 2025, it will be considered a perk, not a requirement. Akin to Brady’s warning, Minnesota will showcase the utmost patience with McCarthy.
The Athletic on McCarthy
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis opined on McCarthy Monday: “Ahead of the highly anticipated Monday Night Football matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, it’s almost eerie how many of McCarthy’s former coaches and teammates arrived at a similar observation.”
“They raved about McCarthy’s arm. They marveled at his near-maniacal pursuit of excellence. They noted his athleticism and toughness. But then they homed in on the impact his energy had on others, almost as if that quality would be the most important factor in what McCarthy ultimately accomplishes as a pro.”
McCarthy will become the youngest Vikings quarterback in franchise history to start a primetime game.
“In many ways, O’Connell wanted to generate a similar feeling in his quarterback. He could have allocated all of his attention last year to Darnold. He didn’t. The play-calling coach and young quarterback met privately for an hour each week. O’Connell also could have delayed McCarthy’s starting opportunity for the 2025 season,” Lewis added.
“Instead, all offseason long — even when McCarthy was emerging from another difficult mental test amid the rehab of his torn meniscus and the Vikings hadn’t seen him in live action for months — O’Connell remained committed. Not just to the player the Vikings picked 10th in the 2024 NFL Draft, but to the person beneath the purple No. 9 jersey.”
Take the advice from Brady: if McCarthy doesn’t set the world on fire in Year No. 1, it’s not a doomsday scenario.
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