The Minnesota Vikings have named Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback this season, as widely expected, ending the competition with J.J. McCarthy after two weeks of training camp. From the beginning, many\/most were skeptical about the competition, figuring Murray would eventually be named the winner. And from Kevin O\u2019Connell\u2019s comments before the night practice on Sunday, indicating that the timeframe to make a decision on the starting quarterback had not changed, it appears that naming a starter after the night practice was the original plan. But now that the decision has been made, let\u2019s look again at Kyler Murray as the Vikings\u2019 starting quarterback, look back at the rationale and merits of the quarterback competition, and what may be next for J.J. McCarthy.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s begin with a review of the quarterback competition.<\/p>\n
Critiquing the Quarterback Competition<\/p>\n
From the moment the Vikings signed Kyler Murray, there seemed to be little doubt that he would be the starting quarterback this season. The reason was straightforward enough- Kyler Murray has the better track record as a starter when it comes to accuracy and just about every quarterback metric and has also demonstrated the minimum required skillset to be a quality starter in the NFL: processing ability, accuracy, poise in the pocket, and proper mechanics. J.J. McCarthy is still developing those fundamentals.<\/p>\n
More than anybody, Kevin O\u2019Connell understood where each quarterback was at with their skillsets, but still he chose to have a competition rather than simply naming Kyler Murray the starting quarterback shortly after he was signed. So what was the rationale for doing so? What was he hoping to gain?<\/p>\n
Part of the rationale for having a competition was simply out of respect for J.J. McCarthy. When you have an incumbent starter on the roster, it is respectful to allow that player to compete for the starting job with any new acquisitions or others on the roster that have earned the right. Handing the starting job to Murray without any competition may have been seen as an indictment of his ability and potential growth since last season. Another reason for the competition may have been to give some motivation to McCarthy that may help accelerate his development. After all, he did not compete for the starting job in either his rookie or second season. Darnold was the presumed starter from the get-go his rookie year, and McCarthy was in his second year. The competition might also help Kyler Murray sharpen his tools, while also giving O\u2019Connell the chance to see how well\/quickly he learns the scheme before naming him the starter.<\/p>\n
The downside to having a competition is having the eventual starter- Murray- receive fewer reps in the offseason program and fewer first-team reps in training camp. Given the shorter training camps and offseason program compared to years ago, each rep in practice has become increasingly valuable in helping a new quarterback learn the scheme and develop rapport with his teammates, especially his receivers. O\u2019Connell seemed to hedge against that downside by gradually shifting more of the first team reps to Murray during the first two weeks of training camp and maintaining his two-week deadline to name Murray the starter and give him all the first team reps going forward. Continuing the competition much beyond that would begin to compromise Murray\u2019s ability to develop the rapport with the first team needed to be effective by the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n
All that led many to suspect that the competition wasn\u2019t fair- it had a preordained result- and that McCarthy never really had much of a chance at winning the competition. And looking back on it now, that pretty clearly was the case. But compared to the alternative- no competition at all- this was perhaps the best solution considering the needs of McCarthy, Murray, and the team.<\/p>\n
In terms of gains from the quarterback competition, I\u2019m not sure there was anything significant. McCarthy seemed very much like he was last year, so the competition factor didn\u2019t appear to have the desired effect on him. Nor did it have much of a discernable effect on Murray either. He said early on in a press conference that he wasn\u2019t really worried about the competition and was more focused on learning the offense. And so to the extent he had reduced reps the competition didn\u2019t really help him.<\/p>\n
So, if that was indeed the case, it didn\u2019t seem like the competition did much other than perhaps cushioning the blow a bit for McCarthy, which may be perceived positively in some ways by both McCarthy and the team. That isn\u2019t nothing. In his first press conference since Murray was named the starter, McCarthy seemed to accept it gracefully <\/a>and expressed his desire to remain with the Vikings and do whatever he can to help the QB room, team, and organization.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Next for Kyler Murray<\/p>\n For both Kyler Murray and Kevin O\u2019Connell, the bet in his signing with the Vikings is for Murray to be the next reclamation project after Sam Darnold. If Murray is able to deliver on that wager, with 2024 Darnold-like performance metrics or better, it\u2019s unlikely the Vikings will let him walk like they did Darnold. It\u2019s clear that O\u2019Connell has better luck whispering to veterans than he does young and developing quarterbacks, so it\u2019s unlikely he would stand in the way of extending Murray. New Vikings GM Nolan Teasley will also have a significant say in the matter, but he came into the league making two Super Bowl runs with a mobile quarterback that was too short in Russell Wilson so it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if he was willing to sign off on extending Murray if he has a good season. At what price tag will be a question but it looks like the Vikings have built in room in their salary cap for a possible Murray extension.<\/p>\n But more immediately, Murray needs to continue the path to learning the offense and developing rapport with his teammates and receivers. There have been plenty of growing pains over the course of the offseason program and training camp for Murray, as he\u2019s worked through miscommunications, bad snaps, interceptions, and lack of timing\/rapport with receivers at times- all while also battling a mostly dominant Brian Flores defense. It hasn\u2019t all been bad by any means- he\u2019s delivered some high-level throws as well- and his results aren\u2019t much different than they were with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold before him as they too struggled with all of the above in 2023 and 2024, especially early in training camp. So panic is premature at this point. There is a month until the first regular season game and that is a lot of time for Murray to improve across the board. His first practices since being named the starter have been encouraging.<\/p>\n And what kind of a season Murray will have, and how well he\u2019ll fit in O\u2019Connell\u2019s scheme, will continue to be a subject of debate. At this point in 2024 expectations for Sam Darnold were low. He was expected to be a mediocre bridge quarterback until McCarthy was ready, probably in 2025 but maybe sooner. All those expectations proved to be wrong.<\/p>\n