Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings players will start arriving at TCO Performance Center next week, in preparation for the start of training camp on Saturday, August 1. Their first preseason game is August 15.
That’s right, we are a matter of days from the return of football. But who will play quarterback for the purple? That question will dominate training camp for as long as the QB competition out in Eagan between JJ McCarthy and Kyler Murray remains unresolved.
And if you trust Ian Rapoport (NFL Network), Minnesota’s QB questions won’t be answered until after the team’s final preseason game is played at the start of September. Of course, others (like me) continue doubt McCarthy’s ability to hang with Murray.
Let’s ask Cris Carter who will win Vikings’ QB competition…
One of the loudest and more surprising JJ McCarthy doubters to emerge over the past year or so has been none other than Minnesota Vikings legend Cris Carter, who went on a viral rant last season about how “we are stuck with a kid until next year.”
“He acts like a kid, he’s played like a kid, we’re stuck with a kid until next year…”
Vikings legend Cris Carter says the jury is still out on JJ McCarthy@criscarter80 | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/dsolSCuIAD
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) December 15, 2025
Related: Dianna Russini Blasts JJ McCarthy, Reveals Vikings Source to Cop in Shocking Body Cam Video
On the other side of the coin, Carter has voiced excitement over what Kyler Murray COULD bring to Minnesota, in his first year under Kevin O’Connell, should things break the right way early
Cris Carter’s opinion matters — not because he’s now a well-known regular on all sorts of media platforms, that air on the internet, TV and radio — but because he is a MN Vikings GOAT and Hall of Fame NFL wide receiver.
Seriously, who would better qualify to judge the competency of an NFL quarterback?
Carter reveals JJ McCarthy’s biggest stan at TCO…
But on Monday, in the latest episode of his “Fully Loaded Podcast,” CC took the Vikings QB conversation in a different direction, revealing to his co-host Shawn Meaike who drove the bus on drafting JJ McCarthy at No. 10 overall back in 2024.
And according to Carter, the biggest McCarthy stan out in Eagan during that draft process was former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, not head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Shawn Meaike asked Cris Carter, “JJ McCarthy is who’s guy?”
Carter’s response..
“Well, this is the thing. Internally, you know what we hear and from the people I talked to, he was the general manager’s (Kwesi Adofo-Mensah) guy. Not the coaches guy”
🤔 https://t.co/IO2VV4Thx5 pic.twitter.com/49HJg7BKXE
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) July 21, 2026
Carter: “Well, this is the thing. Internally, you know what we hear and from the people I talked to, he was the general manager’s (Kwesi Adofo-Mensah) guy.”
Meakie: “Not the coach’s guy?”
Carter: “The general manager’s [guy] first.”
Fully Loaded Podcast
Related: Main Reason Vikings Fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Revealed
There have been rumblings of something similar to this, since Kwesi was surprisingly fired in the middle of the offseason.
It’s been met with skepticism, due to the pull we know Kevin O’Connell has throughout the organization, but especially in the quarterback room. That’s what makes Carter’s response later in the clip so noteworthy.
Kwesi may have driven the McCarthy bus, but KOC was riding close
There’s little doubt Kwesi had built some consensus throughout the organization, when it came to his love of JJ McCarthy. That consensus would not exist without O’Connell being aboard.
It’s plausible, however, that Adofo-Mensah drove the bus and that others, including KOC, willingly hopped aboard afterwards. At this point, it doesn’t really matter.
All that does is whether or not he can beat Kyler Murray out during training camp. And the odds are cetainly stacked against him, there, despite what Rapoport is reporting.
Mentioned in this article: Cris Carter J.J. McCarthy Kevin O’Connell Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
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