The Pressure Is Mounting on J.J. McCarthy
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy was handed the starting job in the 2025 offseason. The club said “No thanks” to Sam Darnold and Aaron Rodgers, while losing out in the Daniel Jones sweepstakes. Ultimately, he didn’t face any competition, and in hindsight, that was a terrible decision.
The Pressure Is Mounting on J.J. McCarthy
Through his first season as a starter, McCarthy has already missed six games, and when available, his play hasn’t lived up to expectations either. He’s under immense pressure to show something in the final five games of the season.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell included the signal-caller in his list of players and coaches with the most at stake in the NFL’s home stretch.
The analyst wrote about the sophomore, “When I was putting together the preseason version of this column, I included McCarthy as one of the candidates and suggested that a disappointing season for the rookie could lead the Vikings to bring in a veteran to compete with the 2024 first-round pick in 2026. That might be the best-case scenario for McCarthy right now.”
It’s the most likely scenario. The Vikings are unlikely to give up this early on their first-round investment, but his play has been poor enough that the competition of a veteran makes sense, just like what the Colts did with Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones.
“While he has been sidelined for stretches by an ankle injury and a concussion this season, McCarthy hasn’t been anywhere close to an NFL-caliber quarterback in his appearances,” Barnwell added. “By era-adjusted passer rating index, McCarthy’s 2025 season is the fourth-worst in NFL history by a quarterback with 150 pass attempts or more. The guy just ahead of McCarthy is Alex Smith, who overcame an ugly rookie season to eventually become a Pro Bowler. And while Vikings fans were intrigued to see what Max Brosmer could do filling in for McCarthy this past weekend, he was even worse than the second-year pro.”
McCarthy’s play has been featured in various statistics and graphics showing that he’s one of the worst quarterbacks we’ve seen. His comeback win in Week 1 and the decent first quarter in Detroit about two months later were surrounded by mostly inadequate play. Yet, it’s still necessary to point to the tiny sample size of six games. Granted, that doesn’t calm the durability concerns.
“We’ve still seen only six starts from McCarthy, and there are plenty of eventually successful quarterbacks who didn’t look very good during the first six games of their careers. Then again, many of those signal-callers weren’t taking over 14-win teams, and the Vikings could be back in the playoff hunt in 2026 if they merely land a passer the caliber of Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones in free agency.”
Darnold won’t be on the market, but Jones is scheduled to be a free agent. The Colts are expected to keep him in the building, though. A long-term deal or the franchise tag could be in play. Mac Jones has been a popular competition idea. He’s under contract for a second season in San Francisco and would require a trade.
“If McCarthy returns from his concussion and shows signs of growth over the final month of the season, the Vikings should field competition for their starting job in camp next year. If he continues to look overmatched upon his return to the lineup, though, the Vikings might move forward with a new plan at quarterback, consigning McCarthy to a backup role after just a handful of pro starts,” Barnwell concluded.
McCarthy is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday. The 22-year-old has five games remaining this season to show some growth. He needs to prove that he needs a challenger, not a replacement.
Expect the Vikings to be part of pretty much every possible quarterback rumor imaginable.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.