Rich’s Message to JJ McCarthy after Losing the Vikings’ QB Competition to Kyler Murray

The Vikings named Kyler Murray their starter before a preseason snap, and the easy conclusion is that J.J. McCarthy played himself out of the job. Rich is not buying that framing.

"Everything seems to be thrown in this young man's lap," he said, "and I would push back on that."

Two reasons drove the timing, in his reading. The first is logistics. Splitting reps is over, preseason football is here, and every available snap now goes to Murray. The second is money, and it is the part nobody should skip past. Murray is a former first overall pick costing Minnesota $1.3 million on a one-year deal with no tag attached, which means a clean path to free agency after the 2026 season.

"Notice I didn't say cheap," Rich said. "I'm trying to be consistent around here."

The Vikings, he argued, know exactly what happened the last time a veteran quarterback walked out of that building and won a Super Bowl somewhere else. They are determined not to repeat it, and if handing Murray the keys now is what it takes to keep him interested, so be it. The whole arrangement is an invitation. Here is the runway. Make this a very difficult decision for us in January.

That opportunity is enormous. Murray has had DeAndre Hopkins and Marvin Harrison Jr. before, but Rich kept coming back to one name. "That's Justin freaking Jefferson out there." Then Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, Jordan Mason, Aaron Jones, T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver, an offensive line that was rarely healthy last season, Kevin O'Connell in his helmet and Josh McCown on the sideline. The defense finished top five. The turnover differential was minus nine, close to dead last, because Minnesota quarterbacks threw 21 interceptions, as many as the entire team took away.

Cut that down, add some running, and Rich thinks the division is live.

Then he turned to McCarthy, and the tone changed.

"This sucks," he said. "It's the way I put it. This sucks." They traded up for him. He got hurt. Sam Darnold left and won a title. His turn arrived and the injuries and the inconsistency arrived with it, plus a self-inflicted moment referring to himself as nine that turned into memes everywhere.

The message underneath it was not sympathy. It was arithmetic. McCarthy is 23 years old, sitting in what Rich called quarterback university with a coach other quarterbacks would love to play for. Soak it in. Take every piece of information. Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff got second acts. Geno Smith is in his mid-30s, threw three interceptions in practice, and the Jets are still starting him in Week 1. Drew Brees lost his job in San Diego to Philip Rivers and went to New Orleans on his way to Canton.

"You're 23 years of age," Rich said. "There's so much runway in front of this kid. So much."

Including this season, possibly. Murray has missed more than half the year in two of the last three, which makes McCarthy's snaps a matter of when rather than if. Rich expects O'Connell to give Murray at least the first five games without a look over his shoulder, a stretch that opens with Green Bay at home, a trip to Chicago, a trip to Tampa where Mayfield is waiting, Miami at home and a New Orleans game that will be less of a homecoming than people assume.

Three and two into the bye is the target. The same squeeze, Rich noted, is coming for Michael Penix Jr. and for Shedeur Sanders. Inexpensive veterans do not care about draft slots.