Dave Portnoy’s bold read on J.J. McCarthy may sound like a hot take, but it’s not hard to see why he said it.
After the Minnesota Vikings named Kyler Murray their starting quarterback, Portnoy jumped in on Monday and predicted McCarthy still has a playoff win in him. He put it plainly: “JJ McCarthy is going to win playoff games in this league”
A lot of fans weren’t buying it. Plenty of people treated the idea like wishful thinking, especially after the Vikings’ struggles with McCarthy last season. Minnesota clearly wanted to see whether it could revive the career of the former No. 1 overall pick, and the Murray move made the short-term picture even clearer.
Still, there’s at least some reason to keep the door open. The Vikings have already had stretches of success with veteran quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold in the 2024 season, and that kind of example gives both the team and McCarthy something to point to. McCarthy is only in his third season, and it feels too early to write him off completely.
The numbers from his first run are not nothing, either. He went 6-4 as a starter, and in four of those 10 starts he accounted for at least three total touchdowns. That production looks a little better when you factor in how rough the offensive line was around him.
There’s also the simple matter of what he was dealing with in the pocket. Rewatch the first Green Bay game, and Micah Parsons was in McCarthy’s lap all game long.
And McCarthy wouldn’t be the first quarterback to need a reset. Sam Darnold has already done it, moving through the Jets, 49ers and Panthers before his breakout season with the Vikings and then settling in Seattle, where he won the Super Bowl last season.
Geno Smith followed a similar path after his time with the Jets, finding a home in Seattle. Jared Goff also rebuilt his career after a fresh start, and Alex Smith had his own turnaround with the 49ers before Jim Harbaugh helped revive him.
Some have even floated Harbaugh as the kind of coach who could do the same for McCarthy, with talk of a trade. But Harbaugh appears committed to Justin Herbert, and McCarthy could end up being more of a distraction than a fit there.
For McCarthy, the path is simple from here: wait, keep improving, and be ready when the next chance comes. And when that opportunity arrives, he’ll need to make sure the team that gives it to him can’t pull him off the field.
In Other News...
Ryan Day Just Put Michigan At The Center Of Ohio State's Season
Ryan Day is treating Michigan like the sort of game that can swallow everything else around it, which is why Ohio State moved its Senior Day to the opener against Ball State. The idea is simple enough: clear the deck early, cut down on the buildup and keep the Buckeyes focused on the rivalry game on Nov. 28, where the stakes always seem to rise no matter how many wins stack up before it.
From Michigans side, the timing says plenty about where the pressure lives in this matchup. Day still has not beaten the Wolverines at their home stadium, with losses in 2022 and 2024, and his decision only underscores how much that game continues to frame Ohio States season. Even in a year when the calendar is full of ordinary Saturdays, the week of Michigan remains the one Day is trying hardest to simplify. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Is Already Fighting For Its Future At Quarterback
Michigan is already looking well down the road at quarterback, and the staff has started laying groundwork in the 2028 class while fall camp approaches. Jayden Wade, who is currently committed to Georgia, remains on Michigans radar, while Tristin Gaines and Jamar Howard have both shown interest and are working through plans to get to campus in Ann Arbor.
For a program that always has to think a step ahead at the games most important position, the early recruiting push matters as much as the on-field depth chart. Michigan is trying to keep those connections warm now, knowing the next wave of quarterback recruiting can shape the roster for years to come, even if the real resolution is still a long way off. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans May Not Love Kyle Whittinghams Early Ohio State Message
Kyle Whittinghams arrival in Ann Arbor has already brought a shift in tone, and not every Michigan fan is likely to love the early message. Rather than leaning into the old script of pure dislike for Ohio State, Whittingham has framed the rivalry in terms of intensity and significance, keeping the focus on competing hard without trying to sell hatred as the centerpiece. For a fan base that measures the season in part by what happens against the Buckeyes, that kind of language is bound to stand out.
Ryan Day, meanwhile, has gone in the opposite direction by making the rivalry feel like a constant priority. His decision to move Senior Day to the opener was aimed at eliminating distractions later in the year, another reminder that Ohio State is treating rivalry week as something to be protected and sharpened. The contrast sets up an interesting early test for Whittingham with Michigan supporters, because the football part of the job may be one thing, but the emotional language around this game is another matter entirely. [Read more 🡒]