No NFC team fell off harder last season than the Minnesota Vikings, who the Carolina Panthers will be visiting this coming season. After letting quarterback Sam Darnold walk away to Seattle off the heels of a 14-3 campaign in 2024, they fell to a disappointing 9-8 in 2025.
Their quarterback conundrum has bled into 2026, headlined by competition between 2019 first-round pick Kyler Murray and 2024 10th overall pick J.J McCarthy. The former is trying to start fresh and prove he can still be a dynamic dual-threat passer while the latter hopes to kickstart his sluggish pro career.
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Either way, consider Panthers legend Steve Smith Sr. is unimpressed. The franchise’s all-time leading receiver ripped into Minnesota’s options on last Friday’s episode of Get Up on ESPN.
“Justin Jefferson probably needs to read that book that A.J. Brown was using on the sideline. I don’t see a chance,” Smith stated. “Do you know who can beat J.J. McCarthy? Anybody with a heartbeat . . .
“And Kyler Murray, good luck. I hope things improve for him. I hope he stays off the Call of Duty and starts getting to his playbook.”
Well, Smith wasn’t too nice . . . but he’s not wrong, either.
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Carolina will be seeing the Vikings, Murray and/or McCarthy in Week 13 from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. savagely rips Vikings’ QB competition