For J.J. McCarthy, the conversation around his future has shifted from whether Minnesota would trust him to start to a bigger, more uncomfortable question: can he actually grow into the quarterback teams thought they were drafting?
That doubt was already there inside the Vikings organization last summer. Some players and staffers reportedly believed Max Brosmer, an undrafted rookie, was better prepared to handle Week 1 than McCarthy.
The issue wasn’t arm talent. It was the full package that comes with being an NFL starter - running the huddle, managing the room and showing the kind of day-to-day steadiness teams need at the position.
One source told CBS Sports McCarthy was "unpredictable" on a daily basis, and another put it bluntly: "A franchise quarterback is supposed to be the stability piece of a franchise, like you know what you're getting every day," a source said. "But with J.J., you weren't sure which version you were going to get.
I think he's just still so young and may not have understood yet what that position fully entails and things like the consistency and day-to-day commitment."
A year later, the picture is still murky. McCarthy is only 23, but his first two NFL seasons have been interrupted by injuries, including a knee injury that wiped out his rookie year and a high-ankle sprain last season that cost him five games.
He also finished with the second-worst quarterback rating among NFL quarterbacks with more than 155 pass attempts, and in 10 starts he threw 12 interceptions against 11 touchdown passes. Only twice did he top 182 passing yards.
There were other signs of how rough the year got. In a November loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota was flagged for eight false-start penalties, tying for the second-most false starts by a home team in a single game since 2000.
Not everyone around the league is ready to toss him aside, though. One defensive coach said, "He is talented," and added, "If he can learn how to manage a game and not do too much and not do more than what's required of him, I still think he can be a starter."
But the skepticism is real, too. An NFL front office official said, "Just looked last year like a young player who was still trying to find his confidence.
His accuracy was a little bit inconsistent. Was more of in a developmental state of how he played.
Took a lot of sacks too. You saw the frame, the athlete and a good throwing motion, but it was just more like he probably needed more time on task."
That’s why teams have continued to monitor him in recent months, especially with plenty of people around the league expecting the quarterback picture in Minnesota to change after Murray signed with the Vikings in March. Some evaluators now see McCarthy as more likely to follow the path of Zach Wilson or Trey Lance - former high first-round picks who ended up as backups - than to rebound like Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield, who revived their careers after early struggles.
Still, there’s enough belief in McCarthy’s traits to keep the door open. He won’t turn 24 until January, and teams haven’t forgotten the physical tools that made him such a high draft pick. Front office sources have said they can imagine him getting another shot to start in Minnesota or competing for a starting job somewhere else down the line.
One official pointed to Mayfield as a reminder that growth off the field can matter just as much as growth on it.
For now, McCarthy’s immediate role is clear: he’s Murray’s backup. The bigger question is what happens next. He showed flashes this offseason and early in camp, but the inconsistency never went away, and Kevin O'Connell officially named Murray the Vikings’ new starting quarterback before Minnesota even played its first preseason game.
The league still sees the tools. "When you turn on the film, you see why he was drafted (so early)," a front office official said.
"The packaging and the physical ability is starting caliber. He's athletic.
He's mobile. He's got a strong arm.
He can complete passes at multiple levels of the field. But there's probably some underlying causes and a variety of factors that have contributed to his inconsistent playing performance.
So can he improve and mature? We'll see."
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