Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell has ‘appropriate time’ in mind for quarterback competition to end
The quarterback competition for the Minnesota Vikings is going to be fun to watch, and Kevin O’Connell has a plan.
The quarterback competition for the Minnesota Vikings is going to dominate the news cycle. J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray have already been splitting reps during OTAs and the start of mandatory minicamp, and head coach Kevin O’Connell has worked hard to keep the competition fair.
Reports from the first few public practices have reflected each quarterback getting relatively equal time and split between the two players. Right now, playing with the first or second team doesn’t mean a whole lot.
Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy Competition
- The Vikings made it clear it was a genuine quarterback competition between the two after they signed Murray in March.
- During practices available to the media, members of the beat has consistently mentioned the aspect of Murray being much more talented.
- Throughout the summer, both quarterbacks have been given relatively equal reps.
Kevin O’Connell knows when he wants the competition to end
One of the interesting aspects of the competition is the timeline. When is it going to end? O’Connell was pressed on that on Tuesday afternoon by ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry.
“I have an idea of the appropriate time to then transition to preparing whoever that player is going to be to get ready to go. You can have an idea all you want, but we’ve got a great plan in place. We want to make sure that when we get to training camp, we’ve got a great plan. You don’t have a ton of time, but it does set up well to check a lot of boxes from a standpoint of elevating that room, letting the competition play out, but also being able to make a decision and move forward the best way that we know the ultimate decision is going to come down to what’s best for the Minnesota Vikings.”
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell
The important aspect of this conversation is that O’Connell has a plan for how this will end up going. Having a generalized timeline for picking a quarterback is a good plan, as they need to transition to getting a quarterback ready for the season. Once they make that decision, which best guess will be around the joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens in mid-August.
The next few months are loaded with questions, but knowing O’Connell has a plan is a good thing moving forward.