More details come out regarding J.J. McCarthy’s tenure in Minnesota and they explain a lot about the Vikings’ decision
It’s common for negative stories to come out after someone gets replaced, and J.J. McCarthy is no exception.
The expected happened on Tuesday morning when Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell named Kyler Murray the starting quarterback. It wasn’t a surprise for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest of them was the lack of success from J.J. McCarthy in his first year as a starter.
Over his first two seasons, McCarthy played in 10 games, but finished bottom five in multiple key metrics:
- EPA/play
- Success rate
- Completion percentage
Details emerge about J.J. McCarthy’s benching
Whenever someone gets benched or fired, stories about why come out and often do quickly due to the nature of sports and media. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis revealed a key piece of why the Vikings chose to move on from McCarthy for Murray at this time.
“It is well known around the league McCarthy’s play in 2025 wore on O’Connell and the offensive staff. Inaccuracies complicated routine throws. Extra hitches threw off the timing of pass concepts. Struggles applying touch on throws to areas of the field limited the team’s offensive menu. On top of all of that, McCarthy’s high ankle sprain and hand injuries shattered any positive momentum.
The numbers paint the most objective picture. Among the 36 quarterbacks who threw at least 200 passes in 2025, McCarthy ranked 34th in efficiency, 35th in completion percentage and 36th in touchdown-to-interception ratio. His struggles forced O’Connell to simplify the offense and call plays with a conservative mindset.”
We know how much O’Connell loves to attack down the field, and the lack of success in doing so was far from ideal. The projection right now with Murray is what’s so exciting for the Vikings, as he’s attacked down the field well during the early practices. He’s also shown over the course of his career to be consistently accurate and a good, quick decision maker. Having those simple assets on hand will elevate the Vikings’ a lot closer toward the 14-3 record they had in 2024.
It would have been ideal for the Vikings to have McCarthy be successful, but the struggles of last season were too much to overcome for 2026.
