Vikings Urged to Fix the ‘Disaster' of J.J. McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings had a rough 2025-26 season, and it was also a difficult first season for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was essentially a rookie after having to sit out his first year due to injury.

For the 2025 NFL season, McCarthy appeared in just 10 games, again due to injury, and had a 6-4 record in those matchups. He clocked 140 of 243 passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

If the Vikings want to excel in 2026, and they do, they’ll have to get this quarterback situation figured out.

In a piece about each NFL team’s biggest weakness at this point in the season, published on Tuesday, May 12, Christian D’Andrea of USA Today’s For the Win says the Vikings need to restore JJ McCarthy’s competence going into the new season.

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“McCarthy was a disaster, had a 3:9 TD:INT ratio when throwing to those talented wideouts split wide and had a 48.9 passer rating on deep throws,” she notes in the piece. “He had only 2.1 yards of separation on those deep shots, on average, because he also stunk in the short range; a -0.12 EPA per dropback on low-risk throws that went an average of only 2.1 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.”

She adds that “if he can’t restore his short game, the Vikings’ deep ball has no prayer.”

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McCarthy has potential, but he has yet to reach that potential, and the NFL isn’t patient.

Now, the Vikings, of course, have another quarterback option in Kyler Murray. Do you really think he would have taken the Minnesota gig to be a backup? Probably not. So, don’t be surprised to see Murray take the reins this season. If he doesn’t, the Vikings have to do more to help McCarthy reach his potential.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 12:43 PM.