![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kevin-oconnell-minnesota-vikings_198911.jpg\")
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(Photo by Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> will have a QB competition to determine their starter for Week 1. Over the offseason, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray and re-signed Carson Wentz, with J.J. McCarthy<\/a>, as Minnesota hopes the play under center doesn\u2019t prevent them from reaching the playoffs.<\/p>\n After seeing Sam Darnold<\/a> win Super Bowl LX with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> and the QB\u2019s disappointing play during the 2025 NFL season, head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell and the team\u2019s front office are taking a different approach.<\/p>\n On April 3, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio shared<\/a> the latest on the team\u2019s QB competition and what part will determine who wins the battle. <\/p>\n \u201cCoach Kevin O\u2019Connell explained during a recent visit with\u00a0PFT Live\u00a0that, eventually, there will be a clear delineation of positions on the depth chart,\u201d Florio wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real question is when. He didn\u2019t rule out the possibility of determining the starter entering training camp. That seems unlikely, however. The competition will likely commence during preseason practices and games.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, despite having Wentz back in the fold, Florio notes that the competition is strictly between Murray and McCarthy. <\/p>\n \u201cIt will come down, undoubtedly, to Kyler Murray or J.J. McCarthy,\u201d Florio added. \u201cO\u2019Connell explained that he has no concern about McCarthy becoming disenchanted if he doesn\u2019t win the job.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best news for the Vikings is that, however it plays out, they\u2019ll have a solid No. 2 and (if Carson Wentz makes the final 53) a third-stringer who can win games if need be.\u201d<\/p>\n Jets Wanted Carson Wentz to Be Their QB2<\/p>\n During an April 2 appearance on SNY\u2019s SportsNite<\/a>, New York Jets<\/a> insider Connor Hughes noted that Kirk Cousins<\/a>, who signed with the\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>, wasn\u2019t a priority for New York to be their backup, given that the player they wanted to be QB2 was Wentz. <\/p>\n \u201c[The Jets] were really hoping that player [for their backup QB role] was going to be Carson Wentz, and that was somebody that Frank Reich really was hoping, just because he\u2019s somebody who knows his offense and somebody they value a lot,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cAnd if he needed to play, he could come in there and do it at a high level because of his familiarity with Reich\u2019s system.<\/p>\n \u201cBut unfortunately, Carson decided to go to the Minnesota Vikings, where it would not surprise me at all to see him as Kyler Murray\u2019s backup, not J.J. McCarthy. But now the Jets need to pivot, and honestly, there aren\u2019t that many appealing options out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Vikings Recently Shared an Update on J.J. McCarthy<\/p>\n After a rollercoaster 2025 season, the Vikings are forcing McCarthy to earn the job, and Kevin Seifert of ESPN shared what head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell said regarding the latest on the young QB\u2019s efforts to do just that.<\/p>\n \u201cKevin O\u2019Connell said that J.J. McCarthy is back in Minnesota after spending the early part of the offseason training in California, and has been in the building most days working out in the weight room,\u201d\u00a0Seifert wrote on March 30 on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n McCarthy posted a 61.8 overall PFF grade<\/a>\u00a0during the 2025 season, ranking 35th among 43 qualified quarterbacks. His passing grade was 60.1, ranking 35th at the position.<\/p>\n Across 1,632 snaps played and 291 dropbacks, he totaled 1,632 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He mixed in 19 big-time throws but was also charged with 15 turnover-worthy plays.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEduardo Razo<\/a> Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Vikings\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images) The Minnesota Vikings will have a QB competition to determine their starter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-852995","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-vikings","11":"tag-minnesotavikings","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116345865215264708","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852995","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=852995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}