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Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy will need to win the starting QB job this time around after a rollercoaster 2025 NFL season in which injuries and inconsistent play impacted the team. Now, McCarthy will need to edge out a former No. 1 pick in Kyler Murray.

Moreover, there’s pressure for McCarthy to edge out the former Arizona Cardinals QB, given that the Vikings will need to make the call after this 2026 season on whether to pick up his fifth-year option, which Minnesota did with Jordan Addison.

As a result, FanSided’s Wynston Wilcox listed the players from the 2024 draft class who are on shaky ground during a pivotal third season. Many expect Murray to win the starting job, leading Wilcox to issue an alarming take on McCarthy.

“Everything feels like this won’t just be J.J. McCarthy’s last season in Minnesota, but subsequently his last chance to earn his fifth-year option,” Wilcox wrote in a May 21 article. “The Vikings signed Murray this offseason, and he’s projected to be the Week 1 starter.

“Things have been bad for McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season due to injury and nearly lost the starting job last year to Carson Wentz. My guess is McCarthy doesn’t play this year unless he gets traded or Murray gets hurt. He’s the most likely player on this list to not get his fifth-year option picked up.”

Last season, McCarthy played 522 total snaps for the Vikings, earning a 61.8 overall PFF grade, and he threw for 1,632 passing yards and 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Moreover, he recorded 19 big-time throws and 15 turnover-worthy plays while on the ground. McCarthy also added 156 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

J.J. McCarthy Could Get Opportunity as Starter

Nonetheless, Wilcox writes that even though he believes that McCarthy won’t get his option picked up by the Vikings, he does leave it open for the QB to get a crack at the starting job at some point this upcoming season due to Murray’s injury history.

“That said, anything is possible,” Wilcox added in his article. “Murray does have injury issues so if McCarthy does get to play, the margin of error is thin. Like Penix, if things don’t work out with the team that drafted him, there’s several quarterback-needy teams that would take a chance on him simply because he was a first round pick and national champion.”

Vikings Locker Room Does Believe in J.J. McCarthy

Regardless of whether McCarthy wins the starting job or not, the team does believe in him despite the outside noise. On the May 7 edition of “Green Light with Chris Long,” Vikings’ Brian O’Neill shared that the team backed McCarthy even when the player and the team were struggling during the 2025 campaign.

“We were 4-8 at one point last year,” O’Neill said. “We rattled off five straight. Guys believe in [McCarthy], and guys wanted us to figure it out and be better as an offense. There were times our defense was rolling last year, and we relied on them heavily.

“The whole locker room was super tight through the entire process of growing, getting better, and going through growing pains. So, we love him. We’re always at his house, and I love that kid.”