Minnesota

Vikings

Sure, Kev. McCarthy lost the starting competition and is entering the third year of his four-year rookie contract. If he’s going to have a major future as a quarterback in the league, he almost certainly needed to beat out Murray for the starting role or (still in play) get traded somewhere where he can play this year. We’ll see what happens, but it wouldn’t be surprising if McCarthy was traded. It also wouldn’t be surprising if McCarthy requested a trade.

Though the Vikings staged what appeared to be a (short-lived) quarterback competition between Murray and JJ McCarthy, the result was likely determined from the outset. Murray and McCarthy split first-team reps for much of the offseason and into training camp, with both QBs struggling at times. There was no way the Vikings were going to pay the steep price of acquiring Murray from the Cardinals only to sit him behind McCarthy. Murray as starter is probably good news for Justin Jefferson, who last season had one of the NFL’s lowest catchable target rates. Murray should be fine as a floor-based fantasy play in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. McCarthy should still be rostered in superflex formats behind the oft-injured Murray.

According to Seifert, the Vikings have given Murray “roughly two-thirds of the snaps with the first-team offense in 11-on-11 drills,” while J.J. McCarthy “has spent a significant portion of his summer working with the No. 2 offense.” While reports have been up and down on Murray thus far, Seifert also suggests the gap between Murray and McCarthy remains wide after the first two weeks of camp, saying that “no objective observer to training camp could say that (McCarthy) has made up the ground necessary to truly challenge Murray” this summer. There are still two weeks left to go in camp, but it sounds like McCarthy will need a lot to go right for him to get the nod for Week 1 against the Packers.

Addison jammed his thumb in Tuesday’s practice, but head coach Kevin O’Connell said tests did not reveal a serious injury. Running routes in individual drills Wednesday, Addison did not catch passes and worked off to the side during team drills. Ultimately, he will miss some practice time but the injury is not serious and Addison should be back as the Vikings’ No. 2 wideout heading into the season.

The 2026 fifth-round pick currently figures to slot behind Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, but given how often Jones has spent time on the shelf, he should have some deeper-league value in 2026. Having the offensive coordinator praising you this early into camp certainly isn’t a bad thing.

Mason stands 5'11 and his weight is listed between 223-230 pounds depending on the source. He hits the latter figure on the Vikings’ website. That’s fairly hefty for a running back. The Vikings’ starter, RB Aaron Jones, is 31 years old and took a pay cut to stay with the team this offseason. Mason, 27, might have a chance to challenge for the primary rushing role this year, though Jones will likely remain the primary player on passing downs.

Darrisaw suffered a multi-ligament tear in his left knee in October 2024 and struggled in his return last year. He told reporters today that he thinks he “turned the corner this offseason.” The Vikings plan to give him regular rest days during training camp and the regular season, but he believes he is on track to be a full-time player once again.

Per Lewis, Murray connected on a notable deep pass at one point, and ESPN’s Kevin Seifert also noted that Murray is pushing the ball downfield. Fellow Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy “spent more time with the No. 2 group” and attempted fewer downfield passes. If this is an indicator that Murray is pulling away, that’s a good thing. The sooner one quarterback begins taking all first-team reps the better.

That average value puts O’Neill just behind Lane Johnson amongst right tackles. The Vikings had O’Neill skip most of the offseason activities but reportedly had “near-universal agreement” that they’d sign him to an extension so this comes as no surprise. O’Neill should be the right tackle of the short-term future in Minnesota.

Alexander pled guilty to DWI this spring and will now be suspended by the team for three weeks without pay. In a statement release Tuesday, the team said, “We take these situations seriously and believe the disciplinary action is appropriate.” Alexander will be eligible to return to the team August 13.