Kevin O'Connell spoke about his looming QB competition at the NFL Annual Meeting on Monday
By Tyler Sullivan Mar 30, 2026 at 3:31 pm ET • 8 min read 
Imagn Images PHOENIX -- You can say this essentially about every non-contending team, but the Minnesota Vikings are truly a quarterback away from entering the Super Bowl conversation.
The franchise struck gold back in 2024 with the signing of Sam Darnold, who led them to a 14-3 record that season. However, instead of signing him to an extension, the team ultimately decided to let Darnold depart in free agency and elevate 2024 first-round selection J.J. McCarthy to QB1 for 2025. That decision has since blown up in their face and sparked a tumultuous season that saw the team finish with a 9-8 record, slotting them in last place in the NFC North and on the outside looking in on the postseason.
Even worse, Darnold went on to win Super Bowl LX with his new Seattle Seahawks squad, while McCarthy struggled with injuries and floundered at times when he was on the field. In fact, some of McCarthy's production ranked at the very bottom of the league, which sent alarm bells ringing even louder in Minneapolis and even contributed to the firing of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
J.J. McCarthy in 2025StatsNFL rankCompletion percentage
58%
Last
TD-INT
11-12
Last
Passer rating
72.6
Last
This offseason, the Vikings made it a point to rectify those issues under center by adding competition to the quarterback room in the form of former Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Kyler Murray and re-signing veteran Carson Wentz. This sets the stage for arguably the most high-profile quarterback battle once we get to training camp later this summer, and puts McCarthy's job firmly on life support.
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On Monday, head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke to reporters from his table at the NFC coaches' breakfast at the NFL Annual Meeting and was naturally peppered with questions surrounding the quarterback room. Below, we'll take a look at some of O'Connell's comments on his quarterbacks and overall take the temperature of where things stand this early in the process.
Still a ways away from counting QB reps
One of the more obvious questions surrounding this upcoming quarterback competition is how the reps will be structured. O'Connell largely kept who'll receive the lion's share of the reps close to the vest, noting that it's still very early in the process and the team is focusing on individual plans at this stage of the offseason program.
"You can't go into a mindset of trying to elevate your quarterback room and get as many talented players as you possibly can in there and then start carving out the reps in March," he said. "It really doesn't work like that. We've really got to decide how we're going to apply individual improvement plans to guys and give them the runway to improve. When the competition phase does start, it will fall right in line with a lot of the plans that I'm really excited about with training camp, whether it's joint practices or those preseason games themselves. I'm excited for it."
What Kevin O'Connell likes about Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray MIN • QB • #1 CMP%68.3YDs962TD6INT3YD/Att5.98 View Profile Of course, Kyler Murray is the big addition to the quarterback room and the biggest threat to McCarthy to take the starting job. Unlike quarterbacks that O'Connell has worked with in the past, like Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, and even Daniel Jones to a degree, Murray brings a dynamic element to the offense due to his legs. While that'll certainly be a piece that O'Connell will look to exploit if/when he names Murray the starter, the head coach was also quick to point out some of the things that drew the Vikings to pursue him that may fly a bit under the radar.
"I don't think he's gotten enough credit for, you know, playing in-rhythm," O'Connell said of Murray fitting stylistically into Minnesota's offense. "We all recognize some of the highlight reel ability that he has, and Kyler Murray has always had that level of talent. But I think sometimes what we don't recognize is the third-and-7 right before the huge scramble play on the earned first down but that third-and-7 where he hits [Trey] McBride away from some tight coverage on routes that are maybe similar to some of the things we'll do, or watching him play with really, really good technique and fundamentals either in the dropback game."
As much as Murray's ability as a structurally sound passer caught O'Connell's eye, his mobility is something he believes will help in play-action.
"The play-action game can be done a lot of different ways -- offset, gun, pistol, and under center," O'Connell continued. "He's pretty dynamic in the keeper game, the movement game obviously, with his natural athleticism. I see a lot of ways that we'll be able to continue the evolution and evolve our offense here in Year 5."
J.J. McCarthy has gained "perspective" this offseason
J.J. McCarthy MIN • QB • #9 CMP%57.6YDs1632TD11INT12YD/Att6.72 View Profile As we noted above in the intro, it was a trying season for McCarthy this season, battling both inconsistent play and injury. Now, the third-year quarterback is firmly in a battle for his starting job, but O'Connell did acknowledge that he likes how the former first-rounder has approached the offseason.
"It's hard to imagine, but it's a healthy offseason for him," said O'Connell. "He spent his time out in California. He has since come back to Minnesota. He's been in the building working out downstairs with the strength guys. We've had almost our entire quarterback room already spending time in the building. Guys are really hungry to get going. Obviously, the rules keep us from simulating what we'll be able to do when the offseason program starts.
"I think J.J.'s had a good offseason. I think he has perspective now. In a lot of ways, those 10 games, albeit we'd all love to be talking about 30-plus games starting, he definitely has experience. He knows what it's felt like to go in there and do some things that are really high level. Now, it's just about consistency. It's about being in a competitive situation, not necessarily any other reason [than to] continue the arc of trying to become the best player he can possibly become. I think he's going to have a really good offseason, and I think it's going to be a very competitive situation."
Could Carson Wentz crash the party?
Carson Wentz MIN • QB • #11 CMP%65.1YDs1216TD6INT5YD/Att7.2 View Profile The Vikings did retain Carson Wentz this offseason, recently inking the 33-year-old to a one-year deal. Wentz initially signed with Minnesota at the end of training camp last summer and found himself starting five games throughout the regular season following McCarthy's injury.
Out of the gate, Wentz played well, including a two-touchdown performance in his Vikings debut in Week 3 against Cincinnati, where the team dropped 48 points. However, a shoulder injury that he reportedly suffered in Week 5 saw his production dive, despite gutting through the ailment before ultimately being placed on injured reserve.
Carson Wentz's five starts in 2025W-LCompletion %Passing YPGTD-INTPasser ratingWeek 3-5
2-169.0%
253.05-2
99.5
Week 7-8
0-259.4%
228.51-3
65.9
That brief showing did impress O'Connell and the Vikings enough to make bringing him back a priority.
"We all kind of forget that Carson Wentz, when he arrived last year, he was able to operate, coming in and starting in that Cincinnati game, we had, you know, one of our best offensive performances of the year," O'Connell said. "He really didn't get a training camp practice. He really didn't get any real competitive time in our system, and all of Carson's experience as a veteran quarterback, his relationship with [quarterbacks coach Josh McCown], quickly, the relationship that I was able to form with him really projected well. Not only in our offense and his ability to make throws and run the system, but also how he impacted his teammates and how he impacted some of the other guys in that huddle.
"We wanted to be patient and allow Carson to kind of see what opportunities may be out there, but at the same time, Carson knew from very early on in the offseason, regardless of what other moves or move we made in that room that we wanted him back."
Wentz re-signing with the Vikings came in the aftermath of the team signing Murray, and O'Connell did note that depth at the position was a main reason for keeping that line of communication open for Wentz to return. However, considering how glowingly he spoke of the quarterback, it did raise the question of whether or not Wentz could factor into this competition that is largely viewed as Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy.
"I think that's one of the things, knowing that we feel comfortable with the depth of our quarterback room, we want to prepare all of those guys to take snaps and contribute to winning when called upon," O'Connell noted when asked if Wentz was in play to compete for the Week 1 job. "What that looks like, we'll see.
"I will say, and I've shared this with Carson, what he was able to do without any reps throughout the offseason program and training camp last year, and really come in and prove to us and his teammates in that huddle, that he can not only run our offense, but he can run it at a pretty high clip. I think that contributed to the really, really strong feelings to want to get Carson back, because in an offseason where reps are going to be very important. When you have a competitive situation like we want to have, having a guy that's proven to maybe not need a totally equal share of reps and understands how we feel about him, and the expectations we have of him and he has of himself that makes it a really, really quality spot in that room for us and for him to know we have those feelings for him."
Early prediction
Kyler Murray clearly has the inside track at being the Week 1 starter for Minnesota. After the firing of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah earlier this offseason, the writing has been on the wall that McCarthy's days as the Vikings QB1 could be numbered, and nothing O'Connell said on Monday at the coaches' breakfast dispelled that in my eyes. In fact, the way that he spoke so highly of Wentz made me wonder if there's a possibility of Wentz finding himself as the primary backup to Murray and McCarthy slipping down to third string. Again, that's simply based on how highly O'Connell spoke of Wentz, and the play on the field this summer will paint a much clearer picture as to how this battle ultimately shakes out. At this mile marker of the offseason, however, it feels like it's Murray's job to lose by a wide margin.
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