EAGAN, Minn. — The end of J.J. McCarthy’s debut season issued signs of improvement.

“You saw the flashes of the player we thought he could be,” Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said Tuesday. “So in that sense, I can’t say that we were overconfident. Maybe the timing didn’t work out with other aspects of our team, whether that be injuries or different things like that. But, ultimately, we’re comfortable with where we are — and we’re excited about where he can go.”

Head Coach Kevin O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah took turns with Twin Cities media recapping the 9-8 2025 season nine days after Minnesota punctuated a five-game win streak with a decisive victory over the rival Packers. They are on the same page about the need for a deep and talented QB room in 2026.

More than anything, they see that makeup as a way to bring along McCarthy and “be competitive no matter what,” said O’Connell, acknowledging factors outside the QB’s control hampered that goal, too.

“We’re still looking at a quarterback who has started 10 games — 10 out of a possible 34 in two years. Not the ideal path for a young quarterback to develop on the field. But I thought he did,” O’Connell shared. “And J.J. McCarthy is a guy that wants to be great. I know he’s going to work tirelessly to do that. I know his teammates have a lot of confidence in what he’s going to work to improve this offseason. … But I think a deep and talented quarterback room will only enhance his ability to do that.”

In working with the first-year starter and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer, as well as other young passers in the past, O’Connell vocalized the importance of regular-season game action — nothing else compares.

“The best thing that I can say as far as what I’ve learned is to continue to just be the best possible support for them, hold them accountable to the [principles] that you think are really important, try to craft game plans where you do everything in your power to make their job as easy as you possibly can, while knowing you’re not going to be able to totally remove the difficulties of playing the quarterback position,” O’Connell commented. “And nor do I think if you want to help a player reach his potential, [do] you want to totally be in a mode where you don’t allow them to seek that growth. And we use that saying a lot around here, like, we don’t want comfort seekers.

“And I think the quarterback position, you’re never going to be — even the best players in our league at the position, those guys might get comfortable doing the difficult over a long period of time or with their individual skill sets,” he added. “But it’s always a challenge. Every defense, every week is a challenge. There’s great coaching in this league, and we’ve got to match that as coaches, and that’s where it starts with me. And I think I can do a better job.”