Minnesota Vikings surprisingly demote former first-round pick JJ McCarthy to third string
J.J. McCarthy was once supposed to be "the guy" for the Minnesota Vikings. But going into Week 1 of the 2026 NFL regular season, he's not even the guy's backup.
That's because Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell named Carson Wentz the team's backup quarterback for Sunday's home game against the Green Bay Packers.
And on Aug. 11, O’Connell named Kyler Murray the starter for Sunday’s game and the foreseeable future.
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O’Connell told reporters Wentz would serve as the backup, and the team later released its depth chart, listing McCarthy behind him. Wentz was deemed more prepared to step in if Murray cannot play.
"I'm looking at that right now as a week-to-week thing," O'Connell said. "Carson, he's got almost 100 career starts. What he was able to do last year from the standpoint of very limited repetitions but being able to apply a career's worth of experience, that's kind of what you need to do as a backup quarterback — especially early on when so much of the emphasis is going to be on getting Kyler as comfortable as we can possibly get him.
"But J.J. is still going to get a bunch of great work..."
McCarthy's work will be mostly running some of the scout team for the Vikings, particularly during weeks they face a more mobile quarterback.
And that is a mighty fall for McCarthy, who was drafted in 2024 with expectations he would eventually be the team's franchise quarterback.
This announcement is merely the latest in a series of setbacks McCarthy has faced since the Vikings selected him No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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You’ll recall that the Vikings traded up to select McCarthy, passing on Bo Nix, who has since become Denver’s starter.
But McCarthy never played as a rookie after suffering a season-ending torn meniscus in his right knee during the Vikings’ first preseason game against the Raiders. That injury cost him an entire developmental year and left the team relying on Sam Darnold during a playoff season.
McCarthy finally became Minnesota’s starter in 2025, opening with an impressive fourth-quarter comeback at Chicago and earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
But then things went sideways.
McCarthy struggled with turnovers and more injuries, including a concussion, and finished the season with 11 TD passes and 12 interceptions.
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The offseason also dealt McCarthy a blow because the Vikings didn't sit tight and bank on him developing into a good quarterback. They went out and found his replacement by adding Murray.
And this: If Murray plays well this year, as some believe he will, McCarthy may never get a chance to be the starter for the Vikings.
That’s because Murray will be a free agent after the season, and the Vikings aren’t about to repeat their Sam Darnold mistake. Darnold, you’ll recall, played well in 2024, but the Vikings didn’t re-sign him for 2025 and beyond despite his strong performance.
Darnold won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last year.
The Vikings thus would likely re-sign Murray if he plays well.
And that would leave McCarthy a backup player for the rest of his time with the team, regardless of how rosy O'Connell paints things.
"I'm really excited to get a chance to continue to work with him," the coach said. "Want to make it week-to-week so when we need to declare something different, we can and we will. This gives us the best chance to win this Sunday."