J.J. McCarthy Gets a Sideswipe from Former NFL GM
It’s been quite the rough offseason for J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings signed Kyler Murray, whom will assumedly take McCarthy’s starting job in the QB competition that the Vikings are claiming they’re having. Additionally, media members and fans alike are taking sideways shots at the kid, even down to Dianna Russini telling a police officer how much McCarthy “sucks” while pulled over.
There’s been another subtle shot at the young QB, this time from former NFL GM Scot McCloughan. McCloughan spent time as GM of the Seahawks and 49ers. He won Super Bowl XLVIII in Seattle with now-Vikings GM Nolan Teasley, and also won a ring in Super Bowl XXXI with the Green Bay Packers as a regional scout.
McCloughan recently had an appearance on 980 AM, a Washington D.C. radio show. He was discussing quarterbacks being “over-drafted”, bringing up names like Ty Simpson, and of course, J.J. McCarthy.
J.J. McCarthy Gets a Little Shade from Scot McCloughan
McLoughan was asked if there was a player drafted in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft that was “over-drafted”. His answer included a bit of a shot at J.J. McCarthy.
“Oh boy. My personal opinion of course, but I’m just one guy, you know. You know. I think the quarterback from Alabama (Ty Simpson) is overdrafted. Um, but it’s the position alone, you know, I think, not being a guru, but he’s like JJ McCarthy. He’s like Mac Jones. He’s a career backup. Ideally, ideally he might start, but that’s because of where his pick was and they want to prove everybody right, you know, type of thing. And that’s not the way you you should build a roster.”
McLoughan implies that the J.J. McCarthy is one of those QBs that teams feel like they have to start in order to try and look like they made the right pick. His logic is understandable, but if this were completely true, then the Vikings probably wouldn’t have brought in competition for McCarthy’s starting job. If the Vikings were to “feel” like they must start J.J. McCarthy, would they have really gone out and signed Kyler Murray? Honestly, the answer might be yes, because nothing in the NFL is black and white.
J.J. McCarthy Was Always Going to Fight for His Job in the 2026 Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings were always going to sign a QB this offseason. Whether it was Kirk Cousins again, Geno Smith, Aaron Rodgers, or Kyler Murray, there was always going to be another guy getting brought in to light a fire under J.J. McCarthy. It just so happens that Kyler Murray was available, practically for free.
Kevin O’Connell spent the early stages of the 2026 offseason going on and on about how the Vikings wanted to have “the best and most competitive QB room possible” going into the 2026 season. If he didn’t go out and get Kyler Murray for free, then he would’ve been lying. The Vikings did the right thing in signing Murray, because when he’s on, he’s an above-average starter in this league.
That might not sound very inspiring, but think of the QB play we saw a year ago. Sure, McCarthy can develop. However, things were so bad that the Vikings would be irresponsible to not hedge their bets on McCarthy. Now, is McCarthy a career backup? That’s for time to let play out.
