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(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

On May 27, Minnesota Vikings QBs J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray spoke to the media as both players prepare for a competition to determine the team’s starter for the 2026 NFL season.

Nonetheless, McCarthy’s response is drawing backlash a day after. Here’s what the third-year QB said about his relationship with Murray:

“It’s just like two guys in a classroom,” McCarthy said. “He sits on one side, and I sit on the other side. It’s the coaches’ responsibility to teach us and coach us.”

Amid this response, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky called out McCarthy for how he handled the situation with the media on May 27, as these remarks from him could divide a locker room.

“It was an uphill battle for J.J. McCarthy on the field in this competition,” Orlovsky said on the May 28 edition of the “Pat McAfee Show.” “Hearing the answers, it sounds like there’s an uphill battle off the field as well. And if you haven’t, I guess, divided the locker room or lost the locker room, I don’t think that answer is helping you.

“OK, one, I want to give kudos to Kyler. He comes across as mature. It sounds like good leadership. It might be coach speak and the right thing to say, but there’s a reality to that with J.J.’s answer. And I like J.J. I’ve supported him, been a fan of J.J. I’m rooting for J.J. At times, it just feels like, at least publicly, it’s an act. Like this, I have to have this bravado-type response or something like that.”

J.J. McCarthy Can’t Be Hostile Toward Vikings Teammate

Moreover, Orlovsky noted that McCarthy has to see Murray as a teammate and not harbor any hostility toward him.

“You’re on the same team at the end of the day,“ Orlovsky added. “You’re on the same team. We all know you’re competing. We all know you’re in the same room. At the end of the day, whoever plays better is more than likely going to win that job. So for you to have that type of response of, like, ‘Oh, we’re just in the same room.‘”

Pat McAfee on J.J. McCarthy’s Transition to the NFL

It’s been a challenging three years in the NFL for McCarthy, who had his rookie season ended before it even started due to injury. Furthermore, last season, the Vikings QB had a rollercoaster campaign due to injuries and inconsistent performance.

Pat McAfee noted on that same segment that it’s been interesting to watch McCarthy going from the confident QB at Michigan to the one facing adversity in Minnesota.

“I hate the fact that we are breaking down a quote like this the way we are,” McAfee said. “But I do think it is just one piece of the entire puzzle that we’ve been seeing here for a bit and wondering how and why.

“Because Coach Harbaugh, [whom] we have respect for [and] was [the] coach at Michigan when J.J. McCarthy had all the success that he had and recruited him out of IMG Academy and everything like that, said he had the greatest workout in the history of quarterbacks or something like that after his pro day, and then talks about him being the best quarterback.

“I think his opinion carries a lot of weight with a lot of NFL people, as it should. So I think we all immediately had super high hopes for J.J. McCarthy for one reason or another… We saw him in [college against Alabama], his gamesmanship, we heard about his leadership style, but since the NFL has happened, it’s just been an interesting watch.”