Minnesota Vikings bestow big honor to J.J. McCarthy ahead of season opener and it speaks volumes about who he is

From top to bottom, the Vikings believe in J.J. McCarthy.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Aug 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings have named their team captains for the 2025 season, and they will continue having eight players lead them into each game.

The biggest changes to the captains from last season are relatively simple: McCarthy takes over for Sam Darnold, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks, Jones for fullback C.J. Ham, who is currently on injured reserve; and Greenard for Harrison Phillips, who was traded to the New York Jets.

Of the eight captains, there isn’t a major surprise. However, one stands out above the rest.

Vikings name J.J. McCarthy team captain

Having continuity within your captains is important year over year. Under head coach Kevin O’Connell, the starting quarterback has been a captain every year, but it isn’t about the position. It’s about how your teammates feel about who you are.

“You can’t fool your teammates, and that can work in a positive way, and a in a negative way. But I think these guys have just watched the way he’s worked, not only this spring and training camp, but it goes back beyond that throughout the time of rehab and dealing with having the game taken away from him, getting to step on the grass every day and play. I think they’ve just seen a guy that works. You guys have heard me talk about some of the unique kind of personality traits and qualities that he has that I think bodes really well, you know, in the in this day and age, in the leadership department, in an NFL locker room and on an offense with a lot of veteran players, you know that, you know, it’s always a great exercise for me, because I can have a perception all I want, of players and and how their teammates may view them, but you know when you when you do it the way we do it, and the players get to decide those votes and those results normally speak pretty loudly about what the team thinks of certain players, and J.J. is definitely one of them.”

McCarthy earning the trust and confidence of his teammates at this point in his career at age 22 is a big deal. Sure, McCarthy was the 10th overall pick and was essentially annointed as the future of the franchise, but you still have to prove it. As O’Connell mentioned, he’s done that week in and week out. We’ve heard teammates across the board praising him during the offseason, and voting him captain is the seal of approval.

McCarthy will go into his first ever start as a captain against the Chicago Bears on Monday, September 8th, and he’s earned it.

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