As the Vikings try to resolve their quarterback competition, the primary candidates to start — Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy — are splitting practice reps. On Wednesday, Murray acknowledged that sharing reps makes it harder to learn the offense.
“I think the toughest part is, again, I was [in Arizona] for seven years,” Murray told reporters. “I know I had two different offensive systems. But at the same time, you’re getting all those reps, you know, now having to split reps. Me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that, you know, you would typically want a guy to get [while] learning an offense. That’s probably the toughest part, just, again, going back to the past, being in control of everything, understanding what we were already doing, because I was comfortable within the system. Now I’m coming into the new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient, and then let it loose while learning.”
Murray said he’s embracing the process of learning the offense, and that he’s giving himself grace to make mistakes as he figures things out.
Still, every rep counts. The sooner the Vikings pick a starter, the sooner the starter will be ready to go. That’s even more important if the starter is eventually going to be Kyler Murray, since he has more to learn about the way the Minnesota offense operates.
Vikings Clips
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy got a chance to discuss his approach to the team’s quarterback competition on Tuesday and he said it is centered on a narrow view of what’s in front of him.
McCarthy said that the way practice reps between him and Kyler Murray are “being distributed are something out of my control,” so he has taken the stance that the task at hand matters much more than the bigger picture.
“I’m only focused on that next rep,” McCarthy said.
Reports from an open OTA practice in late May pegged Murray as the leader in the battle for the No. 1 job and McCarthy was asked if he’s given any thought to what his future might hold if he fails to win the job.
“I love this organization,” McCarthy said. “I love the coaching stuff. I absolutely love these players to death. This is where I want to be. I feel like I can thrive in this system. Everything played out exactly how I wanted it. I wouldn’t want anything else to change.”
McCarthy may have a different view on that last point if Murray is officially named the team’s starter, but, for now, the next rep is the sole focus for the quarterback.
Former NFL safety Darren Sharper, who pleaded guilty or no contest a decade ago to multiple charges of rape, is moving closer to being released from custody.
Via Ramon Antonio Vargas of the Guardian, Sharper was transferred from federal prison on May 27 to either home confinement or a halfway house.
Sharper, 50, had allegedly drugged and raped (or attempted to rape) multiple women in Louisiana, California, Nevada, and Arizona. He was sentenced in August 2016 to 18 years, with credit for the time he had spent behind bars following his original arrest in February 2014.
A second-round pick of the Packers in 1997, he spent eight seasons in Green Bay, four in Minnesota, and two with the Saints. He was a member of the New Orleans team that won Super Bowl XLIV.
A court filing advocating for early release argued that it would allow Sharper “to finally receive treatment for . . . traumatic brain injuries . . . and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy . . . disease developed from his years playing football.” That motion was denied in August 2025.
Sharper is currently due to be freed on December 27, 2028.
Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson said recently that it would be great to have the same quarterback for “these next couple of years.” But it remains to be seen whether the Vikings will have that.
The Vikings have started eight different quarterbacks the past three seasons after Kirk Cousins started 49 of 50 games during Jefferson’s first three seasons. The Vikings do not even know who their starting quarterback will be this season.
Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy are competing for the job. Murray is on a one-year deal, and McCarthy enters his third season with a lot to prove.
Jefferson lauded Murray during a Monday appearance on KFAN FM 100.3, but said he is “excited” to see how the quarterback competition plays out this summer.
“He understands the game,” Jefferson said. “He understands the defenses. He understands just how to put touch on the ball, just enough to where it gets to where it gotta go, without making it difficult for us. So, he understands the game a lot more just because he’s been in the game for a couple of years now. So, he kinda throws the ball before you even get out of that break. Throws you open for sure. He’s a smart guy, and he’s a competitor just like me.”
“I’m looking forward to see how good he does in training camp. I’m looking forward to J.J., seeing his improvements and seeing the different things that he has picked up over the offseason. I’m excited for the competition. I’m excited for that to go on in training camp and see the different plays that they make.”
Murray, who turns 29 in August, gets a second chance after going 38-48-1 in seven seasons in Arizona, with 20,460 yards, 121 touchdowns and 60 interceptions.
Titans wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson wore No. 17 in his four seasons with the Giants. When he signed with the Titans, Robinson could have tried to buy the No. 17 from Chimere Dike, who earned All-Pro honors as a returner last season as a rookie, or pick another number.
He chose another number in honor of a friend.
“I didn’t want [No. 17],” Robinson told Kay Adams of FanDuel TV. “I was going in wanting a single digit, and then also my late friend, Rondale Moore, he wore No. 4. So that was kind of the reasoning behind me getting that number. Just kind of to honor him, and the time that he was here. That’s where I was going in. I wanted No. 4. I don’t know about Carnell [Tate] and exactly what went on with him and Chim. But, yeah, I was good with leaving 17 in the past.”
Tate wore No. 17 at Ohio State. The first-round wide receiver will wear No. 14 with the Titans.
Moore died in February from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Robinson and Moore trained together in the Louisville area the final two years of Robinson’s high school career and became fast friends.
The Vikings have played 34 regular season games over the last two seasons, but they’ve only had left tackle Christian Darrisaw for half of them.
Darrisaw tore ligaments in his knee in October of the 2024 season and he missed seven games last year after returning to action. Darrisaw also missed portions of several other games, which left the Vikings to do a lot of shuffling along the offensive line on their way to missing the playoffs with a 9-8 record.
The line took another hit when center Ryan Kelly retired this offseason, but Darrisaw said on Thursday that he feels he’s turned a corner in terms of his health.
“Best it’s felt in two years,” Darrisaw said, via Emily Leiker of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I’m trending in the right direction. Full motion, everything feels great.”
The Vikings have to settle on a quarterback for the 2026 season, but any choice will have a better chance to succeed if Darrisaw is available more often this fall than he’s been the last two seasons.
The Pro Football Writers of America announced Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as the 2026 George Halas Award winner.
Flores, the 58th Halas Award winner, is the first member of the Vikings franchise to receive the honor from the PFWA.
Other 2026 finalists for the Halas Award were Lions edge Aidan Hutchinson and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The Halas Award is given to an NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. The award is named for Halas, a charter member (1963) of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who was associated with the Chicago Bears and NFL from their inception in 1920 until his death in 1983 as an owner, manager, player and promoter. Halas won 324 games and six NFL titles in 40 seasons as a coach.
The Halas Award is one of the two oldest awards presented by the PFWA, along with the Bill Nunn Jr. Award, presented to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage. Both awards were first given in 1969.
After three seasons as the head coach of the Dolphins, Flores was fired after the 2021 season. He filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three teams, alleging racial discrimination. In the midst of the lawsuit, he was hired by Pittsburgh as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022. Flores has spent the last three seasons (2023-25) as Minnesota defensive coordinator. In February 2026, a U.S. District Court ruled that Flores’ lawsuit can be tried in open court, rather than arbitration overseen by the NFL. On May 26, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by the NFL by declining to review the lower court’s decision in the matter.
During the 2025 season, the Vikings defense ranked third in the NFL in total yards (282.6 yards per game).
J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray are competing to be the Vikings’ starting quarterback, and comments by McCarthy have been interpreted by some as indicating that the two have a strained relationship. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t think that’s the case.
O’Connell told reporters today that he sees nothing but positives in the Vikings’ quarterbacks room, not only between McCarthy and Murray but also with veteran backup Carson Wentz and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown.
“The interpretation of those comments will be what they are. I would just say, in the room, day to day, the dialogue between those guys, the interactions, have been very professional,” O’Connell said. “And more than that it’s been a positive room. I think Carson has a lot to do with that, as the veteran in the room. And I would never discount Josh McCown’s extensive career as a player in those quarterback rooms and how he manages the room and everybody in there. So I didn’t make a lot out of it. I know there was some reaction to it. That’s probably not the first time there’s gonna be a reaction to those guys answering questions about the situation. That’s what the competition is all about. There’s no hiding anything. It’s going to be displayed on the field, and their teammates and coaching staff and the guys in this building have to feel a conviction about the direction we go, and you do that by your daily habits, and just improving.”
O’Connell said McCarthy has done a good job of responding to the Vikings’ decision to bring in Murray to compete with him for the starting job.
“I think he’s handling it really well. He’s been great in the meeting rooms,” O’Connell said. “As a captain and a guy that helps lead our team, he’s been phenomenal.”
By the start of the regular season, one of the quarterbacks is going to be disappointed with the result of the McCarthy-Murray competition. Right now, O’Connell likes what he sees from both.
The Vikings have made their first roster moves since hiring Nolan Teasley as their General Manager.
They announced on Thursday that they have signed wide receivers Michael Briscoe and Trayvon Rudolph. Both players initially signed with the Seahawks after going undrafted this year and Teasley was in the Seattle front office before being hired by the Vikings.
Briscoe caught 43 passes for 779 yards and seven touchdowns at Cal Poly last season. Rudolph had 39 catches for 435 yards and two touchdowns and he also returned a kickoff for a touchdown while at Toledo.
The Vikings waived wide receiver Joaquin Davis in a corresponding move.
49ers General Manager John Lynch announced in February that the team had hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. On Wednesday, the 49ers announced Adofo-Mensah’s title.
He will serve as vice president, personnel and strategy.
The Vikings fired Adofo-Mensah in January after four seasons with the team.
The 49ers also announced nine executives have earned promotions to new roles within the organization.
- Nathan Biehl - Area Scout
- Grant Bordelon - Football Systems and Personnel Operations Specialist
- Ryan Carter - NFS Scout
- Brad Clark - Senior Director, Football Technology & Video Systems
- Casey Filkins - Player Personnel Scout
- Jordan Fox - Pro Scout
- Michael Gonzalez - Head of General Manager Operations
- Austin Moss II - Vice President, Player Development & Team Dynamics
- Jeff Weidemeyer - Senior Manager, Football Administration & Roster Management
