The twin retirements of C.J. Ham and Adam Thielen meant right tackle Brian O’Neill has become the longest-tenured member of the Vikings’ offense. Over his first eight years in Minnesota, O’Neill has become a keen observer of the human condition, particularly the mental state of the quarterbacks he’s charged with protecting.
He has played with nine starting QBs in his time with the Vikings. During the Vikings’ practices this spring, O’Neill has spent his time in huddles with two: J.J. McCarthy, the quarterback the Vikings drafted 10th overall two years ago, and Kyler Murray, the former No. 1 pick trying to replace him.
O’Neill paused last week to consider the career arc of McCarthy: the highest-drafted QB in Vikings history 26 months ago, the preseason injury casualty 22 months ago, the uncontested starter last fall and the incumbent facing a high-profile challenger now.
”I don’t know how I would handle it,” O’Neill said. “Not many people I know on this team have had the path that he’s had. There’s so many more eyes on a quarterback. … Everything’s amplified, right, wrong or indifferent.”
McCarthy has had a taste of all of it — right, wrong and indifferent — in his short time in Minnesota. A national champion at Michigan, still only 23, with 10 career NFL starts, he is trying to keep himself in the rarefied realm of NFL starting quarterbacks. So is the 28-year-old Murray, a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma drafted No. 1 by the Arizona Cardinals seven years ago and released in March.
Reporters got their first glimpse of how they are handling it as the Vikings progressed through their offseason program, which began in late April and wrapped up last week. The pedigrees of the competitors and the high stakes for their careers make the Vikings’ QB derby one of the most fascinating stories of the 2026 NFL offseason, where few position battles have rivaled the goings-on in Eagan in terms of intrigue.
After repeatedly declaring it an open competition, the Vikings carefully meted out practice snaps to Murray and McCarthy in equal measure — and then said the competition will continue in training camp this summer. Virtually every interaction this spring, from McCarthy’s comments about the QBs sitting on opposite sides of a study room to Murray mentioning the challenge of learning the Vikings’ intricate offense while splitting reps, was served up for analysis from the NFL’s ever-present commentariat.
For two QBs who have admitted to perfectionist streaks and entered the NFL touted as franchise fixtures, this is a period of unusual uncertainty. McCarthy needs to show tangible improvement in accuracy, mechanics and decisionmaking; Murray needs to master the offense without playing full time with the first team.
“I haven’t been in this position much,” said Murray, who last competed for a starting job as a college freshman. “But now being in it, why not make the most of it?”
Murray signed a one-year contract in Minnesota after four consecutive losing seasons, littered with injuries, in Arizona. If he becomes the next former high pick to reboot his career under Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, as Sam Darnold did two years ago, he could be the choice for a long-term commitment.
Murray has known O’Connell for years, dating back to the coach’s time working with elite high school prospects. O’Connell believed Murray’s accuracy would translate to the Vikings’ structured offense, while his athletic ability could singe defenses who keyed heavily on Justin Jefferson.
Murray had some rocky moments during the Vikings’ offseason program, like two interceptions at the beginning of their June 9 practice, but O’Connell praised the veteran’s ability to fit the ball over defenders and hit receivers in stride. While O’Neill said he wouldn’t expect a new QB to be fluent in the Vikings’ scheme by June, Murray acknowledged he has felt the friction in his own game while trying to lead an offense he hasn’t mastered yet.
“Going back to the past [in Arizona, it was] being in control of everything, understanding what we were already doing, because I was comfortable within the system,” he said. “Now coming to a new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient, and let it loose while learning, that’s the toughest part.”
Last year, after the Vikings let Darnold leave in free agency, lost out on re-signing Daniel Jones and passed on signing four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, McCarthy faced no real competition in training camp. But by December, when the Vikings were eliminated from the playoffs with four games left, there were signs he wouldn’t have the same luxury this year. At the NFL combine in February, O’Connell said the team’s timeline on McCarthy had changed.
The Vikings hoped signing Murray would provoke a competitive bounce from McCarthy after a season marked by injury and inconsistency.
He returned to the 3DQB training center in Huntington Beach, Calif., for the first part of the offseason, working out with former BYU quarterback John Beck, who trained McCarthy for the NFL combine. While there, McCarthy worked on the list of traits the Vikings wanted him to refine after a 2025 season when he completed only 57.6% of his passes and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (11).
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said last week that McCarthy’s progress can be tracked with an “upward arrow.” Jefferson, perhaps the primary stakeholder in the Vikings’ QB competition, said he’s seen glimpses of improvement in McCarthy’s ability to throw a more catchable ball.
“He’s gotten a little bit smarter into reading the different coverages and understanding the different throws he’s making,” said Jefferson, who plans to work out with both QBs between now and training camp. “Everything doesn’t have to be 100 miles per hour; some throws, you can put a little touch on it and get it to the spot.”
McCarthy warmed up with the Vikings running backs rather than the team’s other quarterbacks this spring, but he remained his jovial self, celebrating with teammates after successful plays at practice. His exchanges with reporters have been more clipped than they were last year, but when asked about the possibility he could be traded at the end of the Vikings’ QB competition, McCarthy said he didn’t want to be anywhere else.
“I think I made it very clear I wanted to be here before I got [drafted] here, and I love this organization,” he said. “I love the coaching staff, 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.”
At training camp, the competition will play out in front of fans at open practices, which begin Aug. 1. In the Vikings’ longer sessions, O’Connell said, fans might see McCarthy and Murray splitting time with the starters; in other practices, fans could see one of them get the majority of the first-team work. Both QBs will be tested by the crucible of a Brian Flores defense that previous Vikings passers have admitted is difficult to face in practice.
O’Connell expects both quarterbacks will play in the Vikings’ three preseason games, and added the team could use Aug. 19-20 joint practices with the Ravens to help answer their QB question.
“I wouldn’t read too much into who gets what on which days,” he said, before adding, “I know me saying that was the waste of time it took to say it.”
Given their injury histories (Murray has played only 30 games the past three years while McCarthy has played 10 in two NFL seasons), it’s possible the Vikings will need both of them this fall. But they can only use one of them at a time. It means, for the two QBs who’ve spent most of their careers as lead characters, this co-production will last a little longer.
“A lot of the growth we’ve all probably had in life comes in those uncomfortable times, where you work through it, you find a way out the other side and you’re that much better off for it,” O’Connell said Thursday. “I know that’s Kyler’s mentality toward it. [J.J.] is using his experience in the system in a really good way. So it is very competitive. Ultimately, what’s best for the Minnesota Vikings is going to be the direction we go.”