Should JJ McCarthy Want Out of Minnesota after Losing Vikings’ QB Competition?

J.J. McCarthy lost the Vikings quarterback competition to Kyler Murray, and the immediate question was not how he handled it. He handled it fine. The question was whether he should be trying to get out of Minnesota entirely.

Chris made that case. McCarthy should want out, he argued, because the Vikings have already told everyone what they think. Murray won the job before a single preseason snap, it is now year three, and the kid still is not the number one. His prescription was to get a third-round pick from Pittsburgh or from any of the teams carrying an older quarterback near the end of the line, and he reached for San Francisco as precedent. The 49ers gave Trey Lance a chance, decided he was not it, and turned him into a draft pick from Dallas.

Rich was not having it.

"I'm sick and tired of the J.J. McCarthy slander," he said. "The Wolverine's coming out in me right now. The kid is a winner who is in a spot that you want to talk about out of his control. His knee gives way and he loses his first year in the business. And it just takes time for some people."

The runway argument came with receipts, and the Vikings schedule supplies most of them. Jordan Love waited three years in Green Bay. Malik Willis is finally getting his shot in Miami a few years in. Tyler Shough bounced through college programs because of injuries and coaching changes before New Orleans handed him the job. Bryce Young was benched in game two of his second year with a new coach arriving, and now he is the man in Carolina, trending upward and waiting on a long-term deal.

Chris did note that Young got his job back partly because Andy Dalton got hurt. Which is the whole point. Opportunity knocked, and Young took advantage. McCarthy is 23.

The player himself gave the answer you would want. "Decision was made that was out of my control, and obviously every competitor wants to play, but moving forward it's just about continuing to work hard and just staying ready for when my number's called," McCarthy said. Asked for his initial reaction, he said he was disappointed and that he is a competitor, then pivoted to the next practice, the next rep, and the Giants this week.

Asked whether he still sees a future in Minnesota as a starter, McCarthy did not blink. "This is a place I want to be. And I love every single person in this building. I love this state. I love the fan base."

There is a fair counter buried in all of this. McCarthy saying the decision was out of his control will get thrown back at him, because he could have controlled it by playing better. Leave no doubt, and Murray is on another roster.

Still, imagine the alternative. It is August 13. A trade demand right now from a 23-year-old quarterback would be handled badly by everyone involved, media and organization alike, and it would land him somewhere he also would not start.

The softer version of the argument survives. Other teams should be calling Minnesota. Minnesota should tell them to pound salt.