There’s no guarantee J.J. McCarthy will start at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2026 season, that revelation coming this week from executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski, who said at the NFL combine the franchise is are “exploring all possibilities” at the position.
The Vikings watched eventual Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold sign with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent last March after hitching their wagon to McCarthy, a former 2024 first-round pick who was inconsistent during his first campaign as a starter.
McCarthy finished with 1,632 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over 10 games, going 6-4 overall after missing his rookie season with a knee injury.
“What we do know is we need a level of baseline quarterback play for us to be effective,” Brzezinski said. “A lot of this has been J.J. in unfortunate (situations) with some of the injuries and things that he’s dealt with, but we’re going to explore every opportunity, and I don’t think there’s anything specifically we’re looking for. We can’t manufacture anything that’s not there. So No. 1, what are the options? Is it reciprocal? Is it financially doable? All those things. There’s just a lot of factors that go into it.”
Neither Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, nor Brzezinski, endorsed McCarthy as Minnesota’s expected starter during separate interviews in Indianapolis this week. O’Connell did say he felt like McCarthy, who missed the team’s regular-season finale in January with a hand injury, could still be a franchise quarterback.
O’Connell was previously a firm believer in the former Michigan standout to lead his offense after Minnesota selected him at No. 10 overall two years ago in the draft.
“It’s just the timeline is in a different place for all of us than it was at that point,” O’Connell said this week, via ESPN. “And I have a responsibility — we have a responsibility collectively as we put together this team — to make sure that we use the data that we have at this time and the experiences we have, the feelings that we’ve had at different times as an organization.”
McCarthy is signed through the 2027 on his four-year rookie deal which includes $21.8 million guaranteed. Brzezinski said the team was not” ruling anything out” with their plan at quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is a free agent, along with Malik Willis. There’s an expectation Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray could be as well since he hasn’t spoken with the team since the end of the season.
The Indianapolis Colts have a decision to make with Daniel Jones. He’s set to hit free agency unless the team franchise tags him or gets him to agree to a new deal.
Each of these signal callers could be potential targets for the Vikings if they’re not comfortable with moving forward with McCarthy as QB1 for next season.
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