There has been a whole lot of conjecture on whether or not J.J. McCarthy will be the Minnesota Vikings‘ starting quarterback next season, but the Vikings’ financial situation could be a dead giveaway.
During a recent appearance on KFAN 1003, Ben Goessling of The Minneapolis Star Tribune revealed that he thinks McCarthy will be under center in 2026, and partially due to the Vikings not having enough money to pay anyone to replace him.
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“I do think, the cash they’re going to put into it is going to be limited,” Goessling said. “They don’t have a ton of cap space. I don’t think you’re going to go out and pay a quarterback market-level money to compete with J.J. McCarthy.”
Goessling noted that if Minnesota did bring in another signal-caller, it would probably be someone who was going to be making backup level money.
“If you’re talking about something making not market-level money, then that person’s not necessarily going to have a claim on the job,” Goessling added.
While Goessling feels that McCarthy would probably have to compete for the starting job either way, he thinks that the odds would “play in McCarthy’s favor” because the other quarterback would probably have “something of a ceiling.”
The Vikings have negative cap space at the moment, so it would definitely be difficult for them to acquire a legitimate quarterback who could potentially usurp McCarthy.
“I think it’s more likely than not that he’s starting because they understand that this stuff takes a while, and this stuff is not going to be solved in 10 starts,” Goessling concluded.
McCarthy missed seven games due to three different injuries this season. During his time on the field, he threw for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 57.6 percent of his passes and posting a 72.6 passer rating. He also rushed for 181 yards and four scores.
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The Vikings traded up one spot to the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to land McCarthy, so they have a lot invested in the University of Michigan product.
We’ll see if McCarthy can establish himself as the clear-cut answer in Minnesota next fall.
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