Ted Schwerzler: Kyler Murray Would Be the End of J.J. McCarthy
The new league year starts on Wednesday, March 11th. One of the Minnesota Vikings’ first orders of business will be to grab their next starting quarterback. There’s infinitely too much smoke not to have a real belief that the answer will be Kyler Murray. If and when that happens, the J.J. McCarthy era comes to an end.
The reality is that putting Murray on a team with legitimate talent, real weapons around him, and competent direction is something he has never had to this point in his career. Despite that, he has performed at a very high level and been one of the most athletic players at the position across the NFL.
Kyler Murray Scenario Would Redo Minnesota’s Quarterback Timeline
Murray in a Vikings uniform very well could result in the greatest season of production we have seen from him thus far. There will always be durability questions given his stature, but we could also see commitment concerns subside, given the opportunity he would now find himself in.
This season, the Minnesota Vikings could sign Kyler Murray for as little as $2 million. If and when he works, though, a new contract will be needed, and they won’t let him leave the building. A good season means the end of J.J. McCarthy’s time in Minnesota.
There is little reason to keep McCarthy, a former 10th overall pick, as a backup for the fourth year of his professional career. You aren’t picking up his fifth-year option, and flipping him in hopes of regaining some draft capital would be the most straightforward plan of attack.
Unfortunately, there’s not much room to prove that McCarthy has developed while sitting on the sidelines. There will be interested teams, but without watching McCarthy prove it, it will need to be a serious sell job to get anything more than a mid-round pick. The addition-by-subtraction of a failed selection may be enough for Minnesota to rip off the band-aid, though.
No matter what, and, truthfully, even if it’s Geno Smith, should the Vikings’ new starting quarterback succeed and not be an aged veteran, then McCarthy won’t be with the team a year from now.
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