Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell opens up about J.J. McCarthy’s controversial comments amid QB competition
It’s been a week since J.J. McCarthy’s comments about Kyler Murray, and we heard from Kevin O’Connell on the subject.
The Minnesota Vikings quarterback competition between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray is going to be the storyline throughout the offseason.
The biggest aspect of that conversation came from OTAs last week when McCarthy spoke for the first time after the Vikings signed Murray. He was understandably annoyed by the presence of Murray, but how he came off ended up being a big story.
Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Competition
- Both J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray have been given equal reps across the board during practices open to the media.
- While the Vikings are giving Murray just $1.3 million, he is making nearly $40 million in total.
- Rumors have already begun to swirl about a possible trade of J.J. McCarthy
Kevin O’Connell talks about J.J. McCarthy’s controversial comments
Being that it’s been a week since we’ve heard from either McCarthy or O’Connell, we finally got a little bit of context. O’Connell was asked directly about the comments McCarthy made, and he was very diplomatic in his answer.
“From a standpoint of what actually matters is what I care about. Did we take the right footwork on a play? Did we have our eyes in the right spot? Did we make a protection call against one of Flos Blitz looks? Did we do our jobs to manufacture the starting point and potential path to success for the offense? There’s enough that goes into that, that I don’t have a ton of space left over for who says what and how they say it. I mean, it’s all a reflection of of how people handle competitive situations, and we’re all going to handle them differently.”
Minnesota Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell
It shouldn’t be a surprise that O’Connell deflected the conversation to talking about things that he cares about. He’s a great politician behind the podium, and he’s consistent in staying composed.
“What I care about is when they step between the white lines, that there’s growth and development, and that it really is a competition. I want the best version of that. That doesn’t mean it has to be perfect for either one of those guys.”
Minnesota Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell
Overall, O’Connell did a really good job deflecting the obvious questions about the quarterback competition. Will it stay consistent over the next few months as we get deeper into it? Only time will tell, but so far, so good from the head coach.
