O’Connell Explains Vikings’ Decision Not to Add Veteran QB Behind J.J. McCarthy

Less than two months remain before the Minnesota Vikings kick off the 2025 campaign and finally answer the largest question looming over the organization: Just what does the team have in second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy?

The answer won’t just determine Minnesota’s title chances this season, but will have major implications for the longterm future of the franchise. The Vikings spent the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft on McCarthy and a key piece to their three-year strategy is relying on him to play at a high level on a $22 million rookie contract, which will allow them to focus their financial resources on other areas of the roster.

Even with that theoretical monetary advantage, Minnesota is currently staring at a $60 million salary cap deficit in 2026, which will probably mean cuts of quality contributors if the front office can’t convince some of those players to accept pay reductions via reworked contracts.

That context puts extra pressure on McCarthy to be at least good, if not great, in his second year in the league. However, the 22-year-old is, in many ways, still a rookie after a knee injury in August 2024 cost him the entirety of his rookie campaign.

And that brings us to the second big question in Minneapolis this summer, which plays off the first: If the Vikings don’t know precisely what they can expect from McCarthy heading into a critical year with an otherwise Super Bowl-caliber roster, why haven’t they spent any assets on a viable backup plan if the young QB doesn’t work out?

Kevin O’Connell Spent Huge Amount of 1-on-1 Time With J.J. McCarthy Despite Injury During Rookie Campaign

GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN didn’t ask head coach Kevin O’Connell that question exactly for an article that ran on Sunday, July 20.

O’Connell explained to Seifert how the team helped McCarthy avoid losing the full year, which included one-on-one time between coach and quarterback on a regular basis — even despite the fact that both knew McCarthy wasn’t going to contribute on the field until 2025.

I just wanted to give him a platform with me. Maybe it was football one day. Maybe it was no football. My time is very hard to find during the season, but I just wanted to make sure that we got together.

The one thing I learned about him in those meetings is he had great questions, and that validated that he was receiving and getting something out of that time. And as I’ve told him, it doesn’t really guarantee you anything, but once you’re fighting the fight on a daily basis of growing within the system, he would be able to rely on some of what we did together.

Seifert continued, reporting that McCarthy would take part in all of the game-planning with the active QBs and then retreat to O’Connell’s office to “go through a mental process the rookie otherwise would have experienced on the field.”

“That way when he watched the tape of that practice that night, and later when he was eventually able to start coming out to watch practice, he’s seeing an extension of that meeting if we handled it the right way,” O’Connell explained.

Vikings Wanted to Keep Veteran QB Daniel Jones as Backup to J.J. McCarthy

GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones.

So while O’Connell and his staff don’t have the number of practice reps they would normally rely on with a second-year QB and have zero in-game tape to analyze or work from, the Vikings are confident in McCarthy’s mind.

McCarthy doesn’t have elite physical traits, which is why some draft analysts considered him a reach at No. 10 after affording the former national champion at Michigan a late first-round or early second-round grade. But O’Connell has proven he can win with all different types of quarterbacks, most recently turning a quote, unquote “bust” in Sam Darnold into a Pro Bowler who inked a $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.

The team considered McCarthy viable competition for Darnold for the QB1 job last year before his injury changed those plans, and McCarthy’s superior athleticism can add another element to O’Connell’s already exceptional offense. Darnold’s decision-making was one of his shortcomings during unsuccessful stints early in his career, and McCarthy doesn’t necessarily profile as having that same weakness in his game.

All of that said, he Vikings had hoped to keep Daniel Jones on the roster after adding the former New York Giants starter during the middle of last season. However, Jones left for a $14 million shot at the starting gig with the Indianapolis Colts. Even backup Nick Mullens took off for the Jacksonville Jaguars, leaving McCarthy and fifth-year QB Brett Rypien (four career starts and 10 appearances) as the only two returning signal-callers in 2025.

Vikings Have Options for Veteran Insurance Policy Behind J.J. McCarthy

GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Minnesota had the opportunity to add Aaron Rodgers in free agency, though doing so would have likely meant relegating McCarthy to a backup role, and so the Vikings chose to pass.

The team still has options if McCarthy struggles or suffers an injury, including former starter Kirk Cousins. The Atlanta Falcons are clearly willing to listen to offers, and Minnesota may be able to make a solid trade to bring the soon-to-be 37-year-old back into the fold.

For now, though, the Vikings enter training camp with Sam Howell as the clear QB2. And it may actually be an evaluation of Howell’s play/health over the next seven weeks that determines Minnesota’s path forward in the QB room rather than anything to do with McCarthy, as the former currently poses more questions as a backup than the inexperienced McCarthy does as a starter.