- May 21, 2026
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When the Vikings start training camp later this month, all eyes are going to be on the quarterbacks.
Nothing was settled in the competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy for the starting job during the offseason program, so it remained a chief topic of conversation for head coach Kevin O'Connell during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday. O'Connell said that he's never heard of a "closed competition" when asked if things were truly open and said that the best way to reach their goal is having "a daily attempt to have guys push each other."
"Kyler has come in and done a great job," O'Connell said. "J.J., I think, has benefited from it; he's had a really good spring. Carson Wentz is this veteran quarterback in the room. As a guy who's played seven or eight quarterbacks in four years, the two years we had our starter play the whole season, we won 13 and 14 games. We want to try to get back to the standard of having the quarterback position be a driving force behind us winning by doing their job, by hopefully activating the great players they get to play with."
O'Connell said in June that there's a plan in place to name a Week 1 starter early enough for them to fully prepare for the regular season, but didn't share how much time that will take. Until that becomes clearer, the Murray-McCarthy duel will be front and center in Minnesota.
Nothing was settled in the competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy for the starting job during the offseason program, so it remained a chief topic of conversation for head coach Kevin O'Connell during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday. O'Connell said that he's never heard of a "closed competition" when asked if things were truly open and said that the best way to reach their goal is having "a daily attempt to have guys push each other."
"Kyler has come in and done a great job," O'Connell said. "J.J., I think, has benefited from it; he's had a really good spring. Carson Wentz is this veteran quarterback in the room. As a guy who's played seven or eight quarterbacks in four years, the two years we had our starter play the whole season, we won 13 and 14 games. We want to try to get back to the standard of having the quarterback position be a driving force behind us winning by doing their job, by hopefully activating the great players they get to play with."
O'Connell said in June that there's a plan in place to name a Week 1 starter early enough for them to fully prepare for the regular season, but didn't share how much time that will take. Until that becomes clearer, the Murray-McCarthy duel will be front and center in Minnesota.