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Veteran Kyler Murray and third-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy will compete for the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback job.

A lot is riding on the quarterback situation with Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy for the Minnesota Vikings this year. In fact, according to CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan, everything is on the line with Murray and McCarthy for Minnesota.

Sullivan named a best and worst-case scenario for all 32 NFL clubs Wednesday. For the Vikings, either Murray or McCarthy emerging as the team’s starter and leading the team back to where it was in 2024 is the best-case situation.

But what if neither quarterback can play well or stay healthy? That’s the worst-case scenario according to Sullivan.

“Kyler Murray wins the job after an uninspiring camp, and his injury issues (he has missed 30 of a possible 68 games over the past five seasons) persist,” wrote Sullivan. “That throws McCarthy into the lineup cold, and the results look similar to the abysmal ones from 2025.

“Minnesota continues to be held back by poor quarterback play and finishes last in the NFC North.”

The Vikings signed Murray to a 1-year deal for league minimum. Murray split repetitions with McCarthy during offseason workouts for Minnesota.

Pundits expect that to remain the case for the offense at training camp until head coach Kevin O’Connell names a starter this summer.

Will Vikings Struggle at Quarterback Again in 2026?

Sullivan didn’t get specific about whichever quarterback performing well is best for the Vikings. Minnesota might not care either, as long as whichever quarterback the team names the starter plays better than what the team had behind center last season.

McCarthy started 10 of the team’s 17 games last season. He led the team to a 6-4 record but he had more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (11). McCarthy also completed just 57.6% of his passes while averaging 6.7 yards per attempt.

The Vikings haven’t given up on the No. 10 overall pick being the guy going forward. But Murray is in Minnesota this spring and upcoming summer to, at the very least, push McCarthy.

Murray has always been very talented but has also struggled to bring it all together during his NFL career. He hasn’t led his team to a winning record since 2021. Murray has also not played more than eight games in two of the past three seasons.

In 2025, Murray completed 68.3% of his passes with six yards per attempt. He also had six touchdowns and three interceptions in five games.

Exploring Vikings Best-Case Scenario

Some pundits argued the arrival of Murray was automatically going to push McCarthy to the bench. That doesn’t appear to be the case, though, as O’Connell has preached a true quarterback competition this offseason.

Assuming that’s actually the case, the Vikings appear to be hedging their quarterback bet with the arrival of Murray.

The Vikings have two potential starting quarterbacks. They just need one to actually be that potential starter.

“The pressure of the quarterback battle produces a diamond. Either Kyler Murray is Sam Darnold 2.0, giving the Vikings a veteran capable of competing for an NFC North title, or J.J. McCarthy stabilizes and rises to the occasion to fend off Murray,” wrote Sullivan for Minnesota’s best-case scenario. “Either way, the quarterback question is definitively answered, and Minnesota suddenly is back where it was in 2024, battling for the division crown and the No. 1 seed.”

The Vikings concluded their offseason program last week. The team will resume the Murray-McCarthy quarterback competition in July at training camp.