The Minnesota Vikings have already made one major decision about J.J. McCarthy. Now, the question is whether losing the starting job to Kyler Murray was merely a detour or the beginning of McCarthy’s exit ramp from Minnesota.
Dave Helman of “The Athletic Football Show” is not ready to bury McCarthy’s NFL career. He is far less convinced, though, that the quarterback’s comeback story will happen with the team that drafted him.
Dave Helman Wonders What Comes Next for J.J. McCarthy
“I know exactly how bad it looked last year. He’s still 23 years old. He’s still a talented guy,” Helman said.
Helman pointed to a lesson the NFL has delivered repeatedly in recent seasons: young quarterbacks can look finished before suddenly finding the right situation.
“If we’ve learned anything over the last five or six years, it’s not to close the book on a guy’s career too quickly,” Helman said. “And so, I don’t know. I’m intrigued to see.”
That optimism came with one substantial catch.
“It’s kind of hard for me to imagine a legitimate second chapter in Minnesota,” Helman added. “But where this goes from here is interesting to me.”
Minnesota selected McCarthy No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but his path has hardly followed the franchise quarterback script. A torn meniscus wiped out his rookie season. He returned in 2025 and went 6 wins and 4 losses across 10 starts, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
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The numbers were similarly modest in PFN’s Quarterback Impact Metric. McCarthy posted a 67.0 QB Impact score last season, ranking fifth-worst among qualifying quarterbacks.
Minnesota then signed Murray in March, creating a competition that ended Tuesday when Kevin O’Connell named Murray the starter.
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McCarthy’s Second Chance May Require a New Address
McCarthy has not responded by asking out. He told reporters Wednesday that Minnesota is where he wants to stay and said he remains committed to staying ready if his number is called.
His contract also gives the Vikings flexibility. McCarthy is signed through 2027, while Murray joined Minnesota on a one-year deal. That leaves room for the depth chart to change again, especially if Murray struggles or misses time.
Still, losing the job entering Year 3 changes the conversation. McCarthy was drafted to become Minnesota’s long-term answer, but for now, he is backing up a veteran the Vikings brought in after his difficult 2025 season.
At 23, McCarthy is nowhere near the point where his career should be declared finished. Helman’s point is that the more interesting question may no longer be whether McCarthy gets another chance. It may be which uniform he is wearing when it arrives.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.