J.J. McCarthy may be playing his way out of a job.
The Minnesota Vikings' second-year quarterback played another brutal game on Sunday as the Vikes lost to the Packers. It hasn't been sharp very often this season for McCarthy.
It's not been easy, of course. He missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, and now he's missed a lot of this season with an ankle problem.
But in addition to those availability concerns, McCarthy has struggled more often than not while on the field.
On Sunday, he threw for just 87 yards and was intercepted twice.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell wrote Monday that it wouldn't be an overreaction to think the Vikings will have a new starter at QB in 2026.
"It's hard to imagine McCarthy not getting a chance to finish out this season as the Vikings' starter," Barnwell begins. "The damage to their playoff hopes is done, and their only other QB option right now is undrafted rookie Max Brosmer, who could be even more raw than McCarthy is. McCarthy clearly needs experience, and he's not going to get it on the bench. He's probably their guy for the remainder of the 2025 season unless he gets hurt again. But 2026 could be a different story."
Barnwell goes on to reference the Colts' success this season with Daniel Jones taking over for Anthony Richardson.
"Bringing in a veteran doesn't guarantee a similar result, and it's possible that McCarthy could make enough advancements this offseason that he would win a competition against an outside veteran," Barnwell writes. "But unless the final six games of this season look a heck of a lot different from the first six games McCarthy has started, Minnesota is going to have to look at every potential option going into 2026. The Vikings can't throw another season away while waiting for things to click for their 2024 first-round pick."
The biggest thing that's specific to the Vikings in this situation is how talented the rest of their team is. With even competent QB play, they'd be dangerous. But they haven't gotten that much from McCarthy.
So they'll have a decision to make, and soon.
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