Getty

Kyler Murray is in a battle for the starting job in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Vikings brought in assistant head coach Frank Smith during the offseason in order to help revamp an offense that struggled in 2025. 

A big part of his role in Minnesota will be to get the most out of the quarterback position. After an up-and-down year in 2025, J.J. McCarthy got the heat turned up with the addition of Kyler Murray this offseason. Still, the Vikings have remained mum on who will start. 

The former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator caught up with his former tackle Terron Armstead to shed some light on where the Vikings stand with their quarterbacks. 

“We’re building a foundation,” said Smith. “To talk about positions, ultimately everyone here in this program is trying to get better than the year before.” 

“So to say where everyone is at–we are in phase 2, week 2. You wanna talk about stuff that is way down the road. I’m worried about making sure today was at the standard we at which we want to get it done to.”

Assistant Head Coach Frank Smith Keeps Vikings QB Plans Locked Down

In classic coach fashion, Smith hesitated to reveal anything substantial about the state of the Minnesota quarterback room. Nationally, it’s been reported as a wide-open camp battle for the starting job. Locally, however, the media seems to think it’s Kyler Murray’s job to lose. 

“I would say it’s, it’s open, like…It’s open-ish…There is benefit in there being noise, because that means guys like Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy, who need to maximize who they are and what they can be, like that can thrust them to being that.” said The Athletic’s Alec Lewis on KFAN. 

“I would be very, very, very surprised if somehow in training camp, J.J. McCarthy looked vastly better…there’s just no question in my right mind that Kyler Murray would be the large, large favorite.”

While the run game will likely be improved with the addition of Smith, it seems the team still has a long way to go before any decisions are made at quarterback. The Vikings are obviously doing everything in their power to keep this situation under wraps, and there may not be any formal announcement of a starter until late summer. 

Former Viking Sam Darnold Open Up on Leaving Minnesota in Free Agency

Meanwhile, as Murray and McCarthy duke it out, the former Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold, finally revealed his feelings on moving on from the Vikings. 

“I totally understand the move to go with the younger quarterback on a rookie deal, and signing these veteran players that you can maybe pay a little bit more while he’s on his rookie deal, especially if you believe in him,” Darnold said. “The business side of it, I totally understand.” 

It seems as though it’s all water under the bridge for Darnold, who could have easily felt disrespected. Winning solves a lot of problems, however. Darnold of course went on to win this year’s Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, as the Vikings still have yet to identify who will be their signal caller in 2026. 

Trevor Ripley Trevor Ripley is a Heavy writer covering the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. More about Trevor Ripley