The Minnesota Vikings have one of the most high-profile quarterback situations in the NFL heading into the new season, and they have a lot of stock in University of Michigan product J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy was out for his rookie season with an injury, so the 2025 season will in many ways be his rookie season.
Minnesota has worked hard to recruit top talent around McCarthy, so as long as he can keep up his end of the deal, the team should have a blockbuster season. But, McCarthy is still an unknown. He hasn’t had any experience in the NFL yet.
McCarthy was drafted with the 10th overall pick by the Vikings in the 2024 NFL draft. It was a great pick, until he got injured. That situation has led to one some saying the Vikings’ backup quarterback situation is among the most crucial in the NFL heading into the new season.
The Minnesota Vikings Have to Watch Their Quarterback Situation
In a June 13 piece for Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski discusses a handful of NFL teams who are really going to need to rely on their backup quarterbacks in 2025, or at least he believes they will. When it comes to quarterbacks entering the season, “Not all 32 teams will have a starting-quality option in place and a few will almost certainly experience upheaval at the game’s most important position throughout the season,” he says.
In the piece, Sobleski says that the Vikings are kind of where they were a year ago, “hoping J.J. McCarthy becomes their franchise quarterback while another reclamation project may end up becoming the starter.”
“Last season, Sam Darnold‘s career rose from the ashes, and he finally resembled a franchise-caliber quarterback for the first time since the New York Jets drafted him with the third overall pick in 2018,” he added in the feature. “The 28-year-old was never pushed by McCarthy, whom the Vikings chose with the 10th draft pick last year, because he suffered a season-ending meniscus tear during the preseason.”
Sam Howell to the Rescue for the Minnesota Vikings?
Now, the Vikings have brought on Sam Howell as a backup option, and don’t be surprised if he gets some snaps.
“Minnesota established a new standard last season by finishing with a 14-3 record. The team isn’t going to let the quarterback position hold it back,” Sobleski adds. “McCarthy needs to show he can command the offense and provide a similar presence as Darnold did.”
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips has talked about McCarthy and where he is at a player right now. “I think (J.J.) is right where he needs to be right now,” Phillips said Wednesday, June 11, as reported by The Athletic. “And right where we thought he’d be. I don’t think he’d come up here and say he mastered the offense. Every rep is a learning rep.”
Finally, Sobleski warns that “if McCarthy isn’t up to the task, Howell may get every opportunity to prove he was worthy of a high draft pick many assumed he’d be before falling in the 2022 class.”
