The Minnesota Vikings could've been a serious contender this season with adequate quarterback play. They've got the most expensive roster in football.
Instead, the QB play has been mediocre at best. J.J. McCarthy hasn't delivered on his potential. The Vikings are a mess, and their future is uncertain.
On Thursday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell wrote about the situation for McCarthy, and it's not good.
"When I was putting together the preseason version of this column, I included McCarthy as one of the candidates and suggested that a disappointing season for the rookie could lead the Vikings to bring in a veteran to compete with the 2024 first-round pick in 2026," Barnwell writes. "That might be the best-case scenario for McCarthy right now."
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McCarthy missed his entire 2024 rookie season with a knee injury.
He played well for one of his first eight quarters this season before an ankle injury led to another extended absence.
Once McCarthy returned from that, he was one of the league's most inaccurate passers. And then he got concussed and missed another week.
"We've still seen only six starts from McCarthy, and there are plenty of eventually successful quarterbacks who didn't look very good during the first six games of their careers," Barnwell writes. "Then again, many of those signal-callers weren't taking over 13-win teams, and the Vikings could be back in the playoff hunt in 2026 if they merely land a passer the caliber of Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones in free agency."
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McCarthy's last chance to save his starting job may be to put together a sterling last handful of weeks of the season. But no one is holding their breath.
"If McCarthy returns from his concussion and shows signs of growth over the final month of the season, the Vikings should field competition for their starting job in camp next year," Barnwell writes. "If he continues to look overmatched upon his return to the lineup, though, the Vikings might move forward with a new plan at quarterback, consigning McCarthy to a backup role after just a handful of pro starts."
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