Vikings' Kevin O'Connell makes J.J. McCarthy announcement on starting QB job in Minnesota

Kevin O'Connell couldn't help himself.

At first, when speaking on The Rich Eisen Show this week, the Vikings head coach was non-committal on J.J. McCarthy's status as starting quarterback.

Minnesota traded for Sam Howell during the NFL Draft, maybe creating a bit of sense of competition.

In reality, though, O'Connell could barely get through his non-answer before hinting at what's to come.

First, here's what KOC said that didn't really reveal anything: 

"J.J.'s gonna be in a great position to assume and ascend in our organization, but right now, we really don't have any feelings on competition as much as we've got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase."

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And now for the follow-up point from O'Connell that told the whole story:

"I know everybody is wildly concerned about these reps on air. Let me put you at peace, Rich. When (McCarthy) is taking snaps, he's taken plenty of snaps from Ryan Kelly, who happens to be a ten-year starting center in this league. So take that for what it's worth. I don't think Vikings fans should be worried about the amount of reps J.J.'s gonna get with the ones. We're gonna have him ready to go."

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McCarthy working with the starting center is as good a confirmation as any.

After missing 2024 with a knee injury, J.J. always wanted to get back in time to start this season.

The Vikings let Sam Darnold go and didn't follow through on a dalliance with Aaron Rodgers.

This is McCarthy's team, and O'Connell couldn't even hold back a bit of the truth. He must be excited about McCarthy, which is great reasons for Vikings fans to feel the same way.