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EAGAN, MINNESOTA - MAY 27: Kyler Murray #1 and J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings look on during an OTA workout at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center on May 27, 2026 in Eagan, Minnesota.
The Minnesota Vikings enter training camp for the 2026 NFL season with a dilemma on their hands at quarterback.
On one hand, they used a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on J.J. McCarthy and still want to see if he can live up to expectations despite an injury in his rookie year and a disappointing 2025 season. On the other hand, newcomer Kyler Murray is looking to resurrect his own once-promising career.
The two young signal-callers have far differing views of their fight for the starting job, with Murray taking things as they come while McCarthy has gone on the offensive. But who leads the race to be the Vikings starter as training camp begins?
Head coach Kevin O’Connell opened up a bit on that discussion recently.
The Vikings Aren’t Ready To Choose J.J. McCarthy Or Kyler Murray Quite Yet
Despite reports that Murray has looked far better than McCarthy in the offseason, O’Connell isn’t ready to hand either one the keys to his offense at this point.
But that doesn’t mean that everything is even.
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell on QB competition between Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy: “Both Kyler & J.J. will take reps with the first team. They’ll also take reps with the second group & I think that gives different layers to the evaluation as well.
“We want an elevator.” pic.twitter.com/Q8qfuKEh7P
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) July 28, 2026
“I told the quarterbacks: ‘We don’t need to make this 50-50,'” O’Connell said this week at the start of training camp. “I know we’ll be thorough. I know both guys will feel like they’ve gotten an opportunity to compete.”
O’Connell plans to give both quarterbacks reps with starters and backups, which he believes will be a useful evaluation tool.
“Both Kyler and J.J. will take reps with the first team,” he said. “They’ll also take reps with the second group, and I think that gives different layers to the evaluation as well.”
As for now, no decision has been made. But it doesn’t sound as if O’Connell wants to push the decision late into the preseason.