Kyler

Murray

While Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy are both expected to enter training camp in competition for the team’s QB1 role, it sounds like O’Connell would prefer to land on a decision sooner rather than later. Murray, by all accounts, appears to be the leader in the clubhouse to open the season as the starter, but McCarthy has received praise from teammates and coaches for his improvement as a passer and his ability to throw with a little more accuracy and touch. Currently going around the late ninth/early tenth round of best ball drafts, Murray could turn out to be a nice value if he wins the job and can return to the player who finished as a top-10 fantasy QB in fantasy points per game from 2020 to 2022 under KOC.

On one hand, it’s “just” OTAs. On the other hand, this is the second reporter to suggest there’s a noticeable difference between what Murray and McCarthy offer at the position. We’re less than a full week removed from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert saying the gap between the two QBs is “not close,” and now, Ragatz is all but suggesting the same in his most recent article. While there have been reports of McCarthy making strides as a passer this offseason, the bar has been set so low after 2025’s debacle, that any marginal improvements could garner praise for JJMC at this point. We’ll get a better sense of where things really stand between Murray and McCarthy when the pads come on in training camp, but Murray continues to sound like the clearcut QB1 to start the season, despite the Vikings’ best efforts to suggest the winner of this camp battle hasn’t already been determined.

It was only the Vikings’ second OTA of the spring and first that was open to the media. Still, while the Vikings gave both quarterbacks an equal opportunity, it doesn’t sound like a real competition, according to Seifert. “Murray made all of the best throws of the practice, demonstrating his downfield touch and accuracy,” he wrote. It was a reminder that McCarthy could continue making incremental improvements and still fall short of being able to match Murray, according to Seifert. A former Pro Bowler who led the Cardinals to the playoffs in 2021, Murray is being drafted outside the top-12 quarterbacks as he looks to bounce back in his first season with the Vikings.

Sources tell Fowler that Murray is handling himself “like an alpha quarterback,” possessing “the experience and the swagger of a guy who has been to Pro Bowls and had success.” Recent interview clips involving Murray and fellow Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy reinforce Fowler’s sentiments, with Murray conducting himself with calm confidence. The coaching staff also complimented McCarthy’s development, but Murray seems to be winning the competition right now.

Schefter said on air Thursday night that Murray should be consider the odds-on favorite to start for Minnesota in Week 1 after signing a one-year deal worth more than $36 million. J.J. McCarthy, however, will get a shot to compete for the starting gig after his disastrous, injury-marred 2025 campaign. McCarthy, 23, entering his third NFL season, would have to stay healthy this summer to have a shot at taking the team’s QB1 spot, and he would need to improve in every facet of the game, including accuracy. Dillon Gabriel was the only quarterback with a lower completion rate over expected in 2025.

The Kyler Murray experiment should be well underway by late November as Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings look to recover from their failed dalliance with J.J. McCarthy as the team’s starting quarterback. Murray will lead a quietly loaded Minnesota offense against Kyle Shanahan’s EPA-maximizing Niners offense. The last time Brock Purdy faced the Vikings defense he threw for 319 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a Week 2 2024 loss. Purdy took a season-high six sacks in that game.

NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported the same in early April. In one corner, we have Murray, a former Pro Bowl and playoff quarterback. In the other, we have McCarthy, who has started 10 games in two years. Murray should be considered the strong favorite and can be treated accordingly in early best ball drafts.

The battle for QB1 will be between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, with Florio believing the competition between the two will “commence during preseason practices and games.” This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but it lays to rest any assumptions that Murray will walk in as the unquestioned starter before camp. While we would expect Murray to ultimately win the job in runaway fashion, it sounds like McCarthy will be given every chance to prove he’s still the man for the job and a player worthy of the No. 10 overall pick the team used on him in 2024.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that Murray will make $36.8 million this season. The Cardinals will pay all but the minimum salary. National and local journalists reported yesterday that Murray could sign with the Vikings today, but the former Cardinals quarterback notably set up virtual meetings with executives from three to five teams that might be in need of a new starting quarterback in 2027. He did so with the goal of getting a head start on next year’s free agency cycle, signaling he intended to sign a one-year prove-it deal with the Vikings if the two sides could come to an agreement. Pelissero notes that the Vikings hope competition for the starting role brings out “the best” in QB J.J. McCarthy following a poor 2025 season for the young quarterback. Murray should be considered the favorite to run away with the job at this time and could warrant QB1 treatment, guided by quarterback-guru head coach, Kevin O’Connell.

The virtual meetings will take place tonight and tomorrow. Murray is also flying to Minnesota this evening and will meet with the Vikings in person tomorrow. The Vikings are widely considered to be his likely landing spot, with Murray expectedly assuming the starting job for 2026, and “a one-year minimum deal could come together quickly.” Per Pelissero, the virtual meetings give Murray a chance to reintroduce himself to people he hasn’t seen since the 2019 NFL Draft, “and get a jump start on his free agent process a year from now.” Murray is also reportedly open to studying as a backup in 2026 with a team that could open up the starting role in 2027.