Vikings Fans Are Already Splitting Over QB1
A rather predictable outcome has arrived in Minnesota Vikings fans’ discourse — debating whether to roll with the fascinating journeyman veteran quarterback or stick to the Round 1 passer drafted 17 months ago.
The Minnesota Vikings have a few quarterbacks in the mix through three weeks of the season, and fans already have strong opinions.
Indeed, with J.J. McCarthy recovering from a high ankle sprain and Carson Wentz game-managing a win last weekend, Vikings faithful have already divided on gridiron fault lines to endorse their fighter for the rest of the season: McCarthy or Wentz?
Vikings Fans Disagree on the Path Forward in 2025 at Quarterback
Some want McCarthy; others want to ride the hot hand in Wentz.
The Case for J.J. McCarthy
In April 2024, Minnesota drafted McCarthy from Round 1 to become its quarterback of the future following six seasons of Kirk Cousins, which led to one playoff win. Momentum was fierce.
Now, the camp that wishes to stick with McCarthy, no matter what, is calling for McCarthy’s development and maturation to be the foremost goal. After all, the 22-year-old created a game-winning drive in his first-ever game two weeks ago. Isn’t that enough to inspire supreme confidence for the future?
Kicking McCarthy out of the starting lineup once he heals from a high ankle sprain could hinder his growth and send mixed signals from a coaching staff and front office that have already preached patience and loyalty to quarterback development.
Quarterbacks need time to grow; benching one after two games is mind-bogglingly silly and detrimental.
The Case against J.J. McCarthy
In seven of eight quarters this season, McCarthy has stunk. Utterly stunk. Fancying a deer in the headlights approach, the Vikings’ offense sputtered with McCarthy under center, and that’s putting it kindly.
Meanwhile, the club has a Super Bowl-caliber roster outside of McCarthy’s raw tendencies, and allowing him to take his lumps and develop could result in a losing season — when a competent veteran quarterback could guide the ship on autopilot. That is — based on his first two games, aside from the 4th Quarter in Week 1, McCarthy is not the right point guard for the 2025 Vikings, if the goal is to win a Super Bowl this year.
If he’s virtually assured to play poorly, is it wise business to toss McCarthy on the field every Sunday when a team of hungry veterans wants to win now?
The Case for Carson Wentz
Speaking of point guards, Wentz provided precisely that duty in Week 3, and Minnesota utterly creamed the Cincinnati Bengals, a squad with a 2-0 record heading into last weekend. There’s a school of thought that suggests that this purple team really just needs a game manager, not unlike Brad Johnson with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, when they won the chip.
Moreover, this is Vikings football: finding a down-on-his-luck quarterback starving for career reclamation and finding a tunnel in Minnesota. If Wentz avoids severe mistakes each week, the Vikings can probably snag a Wildcard playoff berth, enter the tournament, and let the chips fall.
Wentz was also the second overall pick in 2016; he possesses the physical tools to lead an offense, especially now that his “hero ball” days appear to be behind him.
If the goal is to simply make it to the playoffs, Wentz is probably the wisest choice — unless he faceplants in the next couple of weeks versus teams that play better football than the Bengals. Not a high bar to clear.
The Case against Carson Wentz
Listen, unless you’re an eternal optimist — the Vikings are probably the wrong team for you, if so — Wentz’s absolute ceiling is taking Minnesota to the postseason and losing after a game or two. We’ve seen this movie before in Minnesota. In 2022 and 2024, in fact.
Playing Wentz over McCarthy would stunt McCarthy’s maturation, and truth be told, Minnesota probably won’t reach the Promised Land with a quarterback nobody wanted until late August. The league doesn’t work that way.
Current enthusiasm for Wentz is also bolstered by his performance against a struggling Bengals squad last week, which struggled to do anything right. Isaiah Rodgers won’t score two touchdowns on defense each week.
Sticking with Wentz would fundamentally contradict Minnesota’s plan, mindset, and words from the last several months, in which it vowed to empower McCarthy.
Vikings Wire on the QB Situation
An alternate voice, Andrew Harbaugh at Vikings Wire, opined on the topic Wednesday: “The Minnesota Vikings are all in on J.J. McCarthy. They proved it by making him the starter when they not only let Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones walk in free agency, but also passed on signing Aaron Rodgers. All three quarterbacks have a combined record of 7-2 and their offenses resemble something of an efficient unit.”
“With McCarthy, they had some growing pains the first two weeks but were down left tackle Christian Darrisaw. This team is built to contend for a Lombardi Trophy in 2025, just as they were in 2024. They cannot have a first-round playoff exit, or else the stove is going to have its burner go from low to high on this entire team. Kevin O’Connell knows what makes what happens over the next couple of weeks very interesting.”
O’Connell should deliver his verdict sometime in October.
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