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Quarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is under a magnifying glass this season with added competition in the quarterback room.

It seems to be a forgone conclusion that Kyler Murray will take the starting job after the former Arizona Cardinals No. 1 overall pick signed with Minnesota in March. Meanwhile, McCarthy has been subject to trade speculation and his future at just 23 years old.

We’re still months away from any conclusion about who will be the Vikings’ starting quarterback for 2026 and no trade appears imminent.

No matter. Ahead of a pivotal third season for McCarthy, the young quarterback seems to have turned a new leaf to protect his peace and drown out the noise as the offseason heats up approaching Thursday’s NFL draft.

JJ McCarthy Blocks Prominent Vikings Voices Ahead of NFL Draft

This week, two of the most prominent voices in the Vikings media ecosystem have claimed that McCarthy blocked them on X, SKOR North’s Phil Mackey and Declan Goff.

“Declan and I have been blocked by a prominent current Vikings player. I don’t know why. I don’t think Declan knows why,” Mackey said on the “Purple Daily” podcast on Tuesday, April 21. “It’s only on the one platform. So it’s possible someone from this person’s team has decided, ‘Okay, we’re just going to clean up some of the noise here so that our guy doesn’t have to see things.’ But J.J. McCarthy has blocked Declan and myself on [X.com].”

Goff added that McCarthy did not block the main SKOR North X account, which features clips of the two podcasters frequently, which gives weight to the theory that it wasn’t a clear directive and could have been an innocuous move made by someone managing McCarthy’s X account.

It’s not far-fetched to consider. McCarthy is facing another season of adversity, as injuries marred the first two seasons of his career. He’s also indicated in previous social media posts that he does read into outside criticism.

However, Mackey argued that SKOR North has been supportive of the young quarterback.

“[Our McCarthy takes], most of which [have been] from Declan and myself by the way, even in the face of massive universal criticism, have been largely positive,” Mackey added. “People [have clowned] us for not bailing early enough on J.J. McCarthy. I feel like we’ve been allies to the J.J. McCarthy movement, even as that group of people continues to dwindle.”

Vikings’ JJ McCarthy Addresses Outside Criticism Previously

McCarthy had a tough go in his first season as a starter.

After going 1-1 in his first two career starts, McCarthy missed seven games with a knee injury that further complicated his development after missing his entire rookie year with a torn meniscus. He finished strong with a 6-4 overall record, throwing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 starts. However, he finished ranked 30th with a 35.6 QBR among starters.

For much of the 2025 season, McCarthy, who dealt with turnover issues and offensive miscues early in the season, became a viral image of bad quarterbacking. At the season’s end, he made it clear that he had seen the memes.

On January 20, McCarthy shared an Instagram carousel of photos for his birthday with many sentimental photos of him and his family.

However, there was an image buried in the carousel that may be his mantra moving forward.

“Keep every stone they throw at you,” the message reads. “You got castles to build.”