A year after J.J. McCarthy opened his NFL career with a fourth-quarter comeback and an NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor, the Minnesota Vikings are settling into a much different reality with their quarterback room.
What once looked like a promising setup has turned messy, with injuries, trade chatter and questions about McCarthy’s role all piling up. And now the picture is getting clearer: Carson Wentz is expected to be the primary backup, while McCarthy slides to third on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
That’s the direction Kevin O’Connell pointed to in Wednesday’s press conference, and he didn’t leave much room for interpretation.
"Carson [Wentz] will be the backup on Sunday. J.J. [McCarthy] will obviously be the third guy.
Really, I'm looking at that right now as a week-to-week thing. I think Carson, he's got almost 100 career starts. What he was able to do last year, from a standpoint of very limited repetition but being able to apply a career's worth of experience, that's kind of what you need to do as a backup quarterback, especially early on when so much of the emphasis is going to be on getting Kyler as comfortable as we can possibly get him.
...I want to make it week-to-week, so when we feel like we need to declare something different, we can and we will. But this gives us the best chance to win this Sunday based upon how the game goes."
O’Connell also noted that McCarthy is "still two snaps away" from being forced into action, which is the only real path to the field for him in this setup. In practical terms, McCarthy will dress Sunday, but he is likely headed for the inactive list as the emergency third quarterback.
The larger issue is that the Vikings’ attempt to keep McCarthy’s standing in the room looking stable never really held up. His June comments about the dynamic with Murray raised eyebrows, and the injury story tied to the preseason finale was later dismissed by general manager Nolan Teasley, adding another layer of scrutiny.
Teasley, though, wasn’t ready to completely give up on McCarthy.
Still, the most realistic outcome now seems obvious: Wentz stays ahead of him, at least for the moment, and McCarthy’s status remains a weekly decision. How he’d climb back into the QB2 spot is far from clear, and it’s hard to see the team or the player gaining much from him sitting as the No. 3 quarterback.
For now, the Vikings appear to be moving past the pretense and treating the depth chart the way it looks on paper. The longer-term question is whether they can eventually find a trade partner for McCarthy, absorb the loss and move on. In the meantime, O’Connell may still be trying to preserve whatever value is left.
In Other News...
Vikings Lose Tight End Depth At Worst Possible Time
The Vikings have had to shuffle their roster at a spot where they could least afford any more thinning. Minnesota placed tight end Ben Yurosek on injured reserve, a move that takes away a piece of the depth chart just as the team is settling into the 2026 season. To make room, the Vikings also released safety Kahlef Hailassie from the practice squad.
Yuroseks injury is not expected to be long-term, so this looks more like a setback than a season-changing loss. Even so, it leaves Minnesota leaning more heavily on its veteran pair of T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver for the time being, and the Vikings will be hoping Yurosek can work his way back later in the year when the tight end group could use the help most. [Read more 🡒]
J.J. McCarthy's Vikings Standing Just Took An Alarming Turn
Kevin O'Connells Week 1 quarterback decision offered a clear look at how Minnesota is lining up behind starter Kyler Murray, and it was not the place J.J. McCarthy likely expected to be. Carson Wentz is set as the backup for the Packers game, leaving McCarthy third on the depth chart after a rough 2025 season that saw him finish last in several passing categories.
For a player who arrived with real long-term intrigue, the immediate message is hard to ignore: the Vikings are prioritizing stability for the opener, while McCarthys path back will have to come through performance and circumstance. Injury concerns around Murray and Wentz could still create an opening during the 2026 season, but for now McCarthy is waiting much farther down the line than anyone in Minnesota would have hoped. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Just Sent A Troubling Early Message About J.J. McCarthy
Kevin OConnells Week 1 quarterback decision sent an early signal about where J.J. McCarthy stands as the season opens. The Vikings head coach said McCarthy will open as the No. 3 quarterback behind Carson Wentz, a notable shift from the earlier plan that had the young passer slotted in as the backup.
The move adds another layer to an offseason that has already brought questions around McCarthys ankle injury and the chatter about his future in Minnesota. Even with the opener still ahead, the Vikings have made it clear their depth chart is not set in the way many expected, and McCarthy now has more to prove before he can climb back into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]