Minnesota Sports Forum

Having Murray, McCarthy, and Wentz is certainly a big improvement this year. I think if Wentz sees the field he won't be removed unless he is injured.

And we have named a starter.....

It feels very much like there is a wild amount of effort by media types and some fans trying to make this whole QB way more complicated than it is. Yes McCarthy is gonna want to get traded to be a backup with the chargers when the guy currently in front of him has had problems staying healthy and is on a 1 year deal. Lol

Also people can knock KOC for stuff but if I'm a QB I'm absolutely not trying to get out of whatever system he is doing etc. Is it so ridiculous to imagine McCarthy waiting even another year to play? Rodgers and Love didn't take over till then. I get the rookie scale QB argument etc but they basically still have that bow only they are spending top backup money total to their 3 QBs and the depth is likely exactly what KOC wants.

It will be interesting to see if some of the other players look good in preseason etc. It seems that some young players have made some impact and strides.

I don't want to offer any hot takes based on just a few snaps in a preseason game, but I'm also going with things I've heard from analysts who have been attending practices. I think if the season started today, Wentz would be the backup to Murray with JJ third. Apparently both Wentz and JJ have outplayed Murray at times during camp, but I'm giving Murray a pass because he's not as familiar with KOC's playbook as the other two are. But I have a feeling that if Murray gets hurt, we're going to see Wentz before JJ. There's a lot of optimism swirling around the Vikes with a healthy OLine sparking a revived running game and a potentially exciting defense. The division is tough, but I think KOC is feeling good about this team and will be reluctant to turn over the reins to a young QB who has frankly been awful...especially when he has a veteran ready to take over.

Of course my take has a lot to do with my belief which I have had since the draft that JJ has a long way to go before he can be considered an NFL QB. Now the order of appearances last Saturday (Murray, JJ, Wentz) would indicate that JJ is QB2, but I'm not convinced. JJ will get opportunities this pre-season, but I think he is going to have to show a lot more than he has to date to win the backup role.

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Aug 17, 2026 4:41 pm I don't want to offer any hot takes based on just a few snaps in a preseason game, but I'm also going with things I've heard from analysts who have been attending practices. I think if the season started today, Wentz would be the backup to Murray with JJ third. Apparently both Wentz and JJ have outplayed Murray at times during camp, but I'm giving Murray a pass because he's not as familiar with KOC's playbook as the other two are. But I have a feeling that if Murray gets hurt, we're going to see Wentz before JJ. There's a lot of optimism swirling around the Vikes with a healthy OLine sparking a revived running game and a potentially exciting defense. The division is tough, but I think KOC is feeling good about this team and will be reluctant to turn over the reins to a young QB who has frankly been awful...especially when he has a veteran ready to take over.

Of course my take has a lot to do with my belief which I have had since the draft that JJ has a long way to go before he can be considered an NFL QB. Now the order of appearances last Saturday (Murray, JJ, Wentz) would indicate that JJ is QB2, but I'm not convinced. JJ will get opportunities this pre-season, but I think he is going to have to show a lot more than he has to date to win the backup role.

I've purposely not paid much attention to the media types taking about Murray and McCarthy etc. I have way more trust in KOC than those folks even if I absolutely don't think KOC is infallible when it comes to QBs etc. IMO there is a ridiculous amount of noise that doesn't even seem to make any sense.

Now I watched the preseason game and Murray looked fine did about what you would hope for your starter to do. McCarthy looked ok-ish I guess he did show of his athletic ability and made a throw that Felton dropped. Meanwhile Wentz comes in and looked like a damn NFL QB. He wasn't as sharp later on although then he made some plays including that sweet throw and catch to Price. The contrast was a bit jarring. It was almost like when Ponder got hurt and Matt Cassel came in and was just checking the ball all over the place and I was like...oh.

Like you said it's just a preseason game and there was some online breakdowns etc etc etc. let's also remember that guys like Aaron Rodger and Jordon Love didn't start till year 3. For McCarthy that's either next season or the following season depending on whether you want to count the season he was out all year due to injury. Meanwhile after the game the interview in the locker room that was as happy and himself McCarthy had looked in quite a while. Maybe he found out he will be traded. Maybe he was just happy to play some ball in preseason. Maybe there was some relief in not having to worry about who was the starter etc. regardless he looked to be having a good time and it was nice to see. If I was McCarthy I would not be too interested in leaving the Vikings. KOC is a guy that's gotten more out of QBs than others and guys leaving the Vikings have gotten paid. There is no reason to go elsewhere to be a backup with guy with injury history like Murray in front of him and only on a 1 year deal. He is getting paid the same way. Is he gonna want to go to a shit show like the Jets to try and start? Seems like a bad idea. Maybe he isn't the smartest guy but I doubt he is that dumb after being teammates with Darnold and now Murray and playing behind that horrendous oline last year. If KOC and the Vikings really didn't have much belief in McCarthy would t they have cut bait and traded him by now?

I do agree that McCarthy probably needs to show something especially if Wentz gets opportunities in preseason and looks good. Honestly I've gotten to the point I'm way more interested in the other part so the roster. It's too bad Adams tore his quad again

Yeah, the Adams injury is very sad.

Local writers seem to all predicting Wentz will be the backup. It shouldn't matter much, but then again, Murray is a running QB with a history of injury...backup QB is likely to be important. I'm not giving up yet on JJ, but he certainly doesn't look ready to contribute this season.

FNG wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2026 7:27 am Yeah, the Adams injury is very sad.

Local writers seem to all predicting Wentz will be the backup. It shouldn't matter much, but then again, Murray is a running QB with a history of injury...backup QB is likely to be important. I'm not giving up yet on JJ, but he certainly doesn't look ready to contribute this season.

It looks like McCarthy may have had a good day today. I wonder if maybe having some of the pressure off actually helps him. That what it sounded like from what KOC said.

Meanwhile Myles Price is ballin.