‘I think they know’ — NFL insider talks Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback competition with fascinating insight
We know that the Minnesota Vikings quarterback position has a feisty battle going, but there are interesting elements at play.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has made things perfectly clear where the quarterback competition stands.
“There is a timeline to make sure that we can allow the competition to continue and advance and really lay out a training camp that will allow us to do that, but also make a timely decision,” said O’Connell
It’s not much of a surprise that the Vikings are taking the quarterback competition seriously, but there are a lot of interesting elements at play.
Tom Pelissero has fascinating comments about Vikings’ quarterback competition
It’s an interesting competition the Vikings are having, and it’s one that many have predicted Kyler Murray to win over J.J. McCarthy. We’ve heard from many individuals about how the competition has been going.
The one national voice who hasn’t been wavering with his opinion on how the competition has been going is NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He spoke to Rich Eisen and gave some interesting context on the competition.
“Kevin O’Connell and that coaching staff wanted to go in with an open mind, because this is not just about 2026, but it’s also about trying to put together the puzzle pieces on something that the Vikings haven’t solved, probably since Dante Culpepper, which is who can actually be the long-term solution at the quarterback position,” said Pelissero.
That lines up with what we’ve heard at A to Z Sports in public settings and behind the scenes. The way that both players have been given reps over the offseason lines up with that line of thinking.
Even with that information, there is a reason why everyone continues to lean toward Kyler Murray: his immense talent and experience. Pelissero still believes the arrow is pointing Murray’s way.
“I would say it is more likely to be Kyler, but they say that they’re keeping an open mind, at least, into training camp here that first week, 10 days of the training camp process prior to that first preseason game, and who gets the start in the first preseason game will probably tell you exactly what you need to know. If I had to lead right now, it’s Kyler,” Pelissero continued.
How long will it take for the Vikings to get there? It probably doesn’t take too long, and Pelissero believes the coaching staff already has an idea of how this will end up going.
“I think that at this stage, coming out of mini camp, the coaches probably have a pretty good idea what direction they think this is going to go, and I don’t anticipate it takes all three preseason games for them to arrive at that conclusion,” said Pelissero.
Only time will give us the answer on who will play quarterback, but there are a lot of elements at play, and things for the staff to consider. Pelissero hinting at a decision not being made, but rather what they believe will happen, is a big deal.