{"id":731982,"date":"2026-02-05T21:20:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/731982\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T21:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:20:23","slug":"justin-jefferson-delivers-his-verdict-on-the-vikings-qb-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/731982\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Jefferson Delivers His Verdict on the Vikings\u2019 QB Situation"},"content":{"rendered":"

J.J. McCarthy is Justin Jefferson\u2019s guy \u2014 until he\u2019s not. That\u2019s the word from Jefferson this week, who made the rounds at the Super Bowl\u2019s radio row<\/a>. Jefferson is committed to McCarthy\u2019s development. Now, it\u2019s just a matter of whether Minnesota\u2019s brass agrees.<\/p>\n

Jefferson\u2019s comments support McCarthy\u2019s trajectory, yet they also underline why the Vikings would be smart to insulate the room with experience.<\/p>\n

Jefferson has experienced unusually unstable quarterback turnover since Kirk Cousins left town, but if McCarthy matures into a long-term solution, life is just better for everybody.<\/p>\n

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Jefferson Backs McCarthy, Leaves Room for Depth<\/p>\n

McCarthy keeps the Jefferson seal of approval.<\/p>\n

\"Justin<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson celebrates with quarterback J.J. McCarthy at AT&T Stadium following a second-half touchdown on Dec 14, 2025, as Minnesota faced Dallas. The image captures shared momentum and timing between the two, highlighting on-field chemistry during a key road sequence in a nationally watched matchup. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Jefferson on McCarthy: JJ Is My QB<\/p>\n

Kay Adams chatted with Jefferson this week, and naturally, she asked about the Vikings\u2019 quarterback mystery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jefferson replied<\/a>, \u201cThat\u2019s not my decision. I don\u2019t care who\u2019s throwing me that ball. That\u2019s not my main priority. That person that\u2019s throwing that ball needs to throw that ball, and lead us to into that big dance at the end of the season. As of right now, JJ is my QB. For me, it\u2019s to get him to where we need to go; it starts off right now in the offseason and getting better now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s a pretty explicit endorsement of McCarthy, though some questioned his choice of the words \u201cas of right now.\u201d Jefferson may have left himself some wiggle room if Minnesota takes a bigger swing at QB1 from free agency or via trade.<\/p>\n

Jefferson gassed up McCarthy a bit more: \u201cIf you look at the film, he\u2019s done very good things. Obviously, it wasn\u2019t the most spectacular thing, those are things he understands that there are some things to work on. JJ is a really good QB.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three Straight Offseasons of Similar Responses from Jefferson<\/p>\n

Sadly, Jefferson has been asked this question \u2014 What do you think of your quarterback, or who will be your quarterback? \u2014 since the 2024 offseason. In 2024, reporters asked Jefferson if Kirk Cousins<\/a> would return. He usually replied that the quarterback decision isn\u2019t his job and that he would cook with anybody.<\/p>\n

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Last offseason, the same crowd needled Jefferson for details about Sam Darnold\u2019s free agency. He replied with the same retort \u2014 Not my job. I just catch the football.<\/p>\n

And here we are in 2026: \u201cWhat are your thoughts on McCarthy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, Minnesota must land on a long-term QB1 and capitalize on Jefferson\u2019s physical prime. He\u2019ll turn 27 this June.<\/p>\n

Getting 1,000 Yards Like Houdini<\/p>\n

Adams also asked Jefferson how he hit his six-season-long 1,000-yard receiving mark<\/a> in 2025 despite poor quarterback performance.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know. I really don\u2019t. There were some games I only had one or two catches \u2014 only 11 yards, 20 yards.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That is not a question a team should want the best wide receiver in football to answer, even if Jefferson took the high road. Between McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer, the Vikings produced the NFL\u2019s fifth-worst quarterback efficiency<\/a>, and it is indeed a miracle that Jefferson hit the coveted 1,000-yard mark.<\/p>\n

\"Justin<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja\u2019Marr Chase exchange a brief postgame embrace at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sep 21, 2025. Shot from field level, the moment reflects mutual respect between longtime peers, with the crowd softened behind them following a tightly contested, high-profile matchup. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Minnesota should construct a quarterback plan in the coming weeks and months that has Jefferson targeting 2,000 yards, not 1,000.<\/p>\n

A Verdict Soon on McCarthy<\/p>\n

At the Vikings\u2019 year-end press conference in January, former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell<\/a> said the same thing: the priority this offseason is to build a deep-deep quarterback room, unlike last year when the duo did nothing in free agency and waited until the draft to acquire Sam Howell, who lasted four months in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

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SI.com\u2018s Jonathan Harrison noted<\/a> on the Vikings\u2019 offseason quarterback strategy this week, \u201cNow, with the organization publicly saying they\u2019re looking to bring in a veteran to compete with him, McCarthy is looking at a precarious future as the team\u2019s starting quarterback. When asked whether he\u2019s going to be vocal about who he wants as quarterback, Jefferson noted that\u2019s not his job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the end of the season, there has been plenty of speculation about who the Vikings could target as a QB addition this offseason. That speculation has included links to Jefferson\u2019s college QB, Joe Burrow<\/a>, among other top possibilities. When asked about Burrow, Jefferson spoke glowingly, but understood that his comments carried weight and refused to take the focus away from who his current quarterback is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"J.J.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy reacts near midfield at U.S. Bank Stadium following the final whistle on Dec 7, 2025, after Minnesota\u2019s matchup with Washington. The frame captures postgame emotion and interaction, reflecting the intensity of competition as players crossed paths moments after the conclusion. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Another quarterback is coming to Minnesota. He just is. If that\u2019s via trade, a deal could be announced today. If it\u2019s free agency \u2014 Malik Willis<\/a>, for example \u2014 that process is about one month away. Vikings fans and Jefferson personally don\u2019t really have to wait long to learn the identity of McCarthy\u2019s challenger or insurance policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"J.J. McCarthy is Justin Jefferson\u2019s guy \u2014 until he\u2019s not. That\u2019s the word from Jefferson this week, who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2073],"tags":[105769,1763,256,229,7,1519,1577,2780,294,4097,9737,3218,233,259,2529,6,1257,1878,2336,234],"class_list":["post-731982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-backs-mccarthy","tag-carson-wentz","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-dallas","tag-football","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-joe-burrow","tag-justin-jefferson","tag-kirk-cousins","tag-malik-willis","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-max-brosmer","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-quarterback","tag-sam-darnold","tag-sam-howell","tag-vikings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116020120801240565","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}