The Minnesota Vikings have chosen Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback over J.J. McCarthy. That was confirmed by head coach Kevin O'Connell during his Tuesday afternoon press conference.
The decision to name Murray as the Vikings starting quarterback comes ahead of Saturday's preseason game against the New York Giants.
Murray has long been viewed as a favorite to win the job over J.J McCarthy who has struggled with the Vikings, missing his entire rookie season with an injury, and winning six of the 10 games he started last year.
Murray who was drafted number one overall by Arizona in 2019 was released by the Cardinals on March 11 and signed a one-year, minimum deal contract with Minnesota just one day later.
"“I think he’s demonstrated what he’s capable of," O'Connell announced. “He’s proven to be smart, hard working and be able to take in a lot of information and churn it out.”
O'Connell pledged to supervise a true competition for the job between the newcomer Murray and the incumbent McCarthy. While Murray had the majority of the turns with the first team, McCarthy had plenty of opportunities in open-to-the-public practices as well.
O'Connell also said Tuesday that this decision follows the timetable the team set out to follow when it came to naming a starter, with 9-10 practices before he was ready to decide. He added that he's seen growth in McCarthy, despite him being relegated to the backup role for now.
With Murray learning a new system and staff after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, an earlier decision on the starter was always going to be ideal for him to maximize his time in training camp running the offense.
McCarthy was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft. He mostly struggled in his debut last year, when a variety of injuries limited him. Carson Wentz was also re-signed for veteran depth.
