Plans to let J.J. McCarthy prove his worth as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback remain underway. This is even after four-time MVP QB Aaron Rodgers reached out to the Vikings to pitch himself, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Rodgers, 41, is a 10-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, and Super Bowl champion.
Minnesota’s decision to pass on him drew a reaction from former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber, now an on-air personality for KFAN.
“So based off the recent credible reports, a Super Bowl winning QB and future HOF ‘pitches’ the Vikings on going on a magical 1yr run to the Championship only for the Vikes to say, thanks but no thanks,” Leber posted on X on April 14. “McCarthy has to be peacocking real hard right now.”
The Vikings are “pushing their chips in” on McCarthy, per Breer.
“When the four-time MVP reached out to the Vikings, with the idea of making a one-year run at a Lombardi and tying it to being a willing mentor for McCarthy, the team felt it had to listen. The proposition, of course, was different than the other two—they’d be jamming the pause button on the idea of playing McCarthy, rather than generating competition and multiple quarterback options,” Breer wrote on April 14.
“In the end, faced with all that, the Vikings found themselves emboldened to give McCarthy the runway to seize the job, the staff the opportunity to build the offense for him, and see how that looked at the end of the spring.”
Kevin O’Connell Raves About J.J. McCarthy
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell raved about McCarthy to Breer, noting the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 draft had already made it a preliminary conversation between himself and Sam Darnold before last season began.
McCarthy has also impressed with his work ethic while rehabbing from his season-ending knee injury that he suffered in the Vikings’ preseason opener.
McCarthy – who is fully healthy – remained engaged throughout.
“He was in meetings, he was taking great notes—I was meeting with him personally once a week, and he had great questions,” O’Connell told Breer. “We were trying to steal whatever time we could, not only myself and him, but our other coaches as well. But the best part about it, he was in the building, he was around his teammates. He had a front-row seat to see the journey Sam went on. There was some value in that, albeit with the frustration of, Man, I wish I could be out there doing it physically every day.”
“And that’s where for a young player, that can be hard sometimes, especially when you’ve had so much success. You really haven’t had to deal with things like this.”
O’Connell has touted his previous reputation as a “QB killer” for shutting down ideas about acquiring other passers before the Vikings drafted McCarthy, whom they traded up with the New York Jets to select.
McCarthy became his hand-picked prospect – perhaps after North Carolina’s Drake Maye – and is fittingly getting every opportunity to prove he is who the Vikings believe him to be.
Vikings Teammate: J.J. McCarthy ‘Always on Parade’
McCarthy supported Darnold throughout the season, and that was just one example of how the young QB and “awesome guy” was “always on parade.”
Vikings teammate and former Air Force linebacker, Bo Richter, explained.
“You do these parades when you’re in the military. And then you’re just – you’re marching around doing all this stuff. And they say it’s like, especially in the military, somebody’s watching all the time. So the way they describe that is you’re always on parade. And I would say that that’s kind of how he carries himself,” Richter said on the “VikesVerified” podcast on April 14.
“The way he acts and the way he knows about his business is like you would think that there’s a camera crew following him around because he’s always doing the right stuff. So I would say that he embodies the mindset that he’s ‘always on parade.’”
“He’s a popular guy. There’s a lot of people looking to see what he does. And in any situation like that, somebody’s going to be waiting for you to slip up and all this stuff, and he just he does everything right. And I’d say, that’s the best way that I would describe him: He treats his life like he’s always on parade. So I couldn’t say enough. Great things about him. Such a great guy. He’s such a leader, especially for a young guy. We’re both young guys, but he’s even younger than I am,” Richter said.
“He embodies the leadership and all that stuff. And I think he has all the intangibles to do it, and I think he will do it, that’s all I’ll say.”
