The Minnesota Vikings named Kyler Murray their starting quarterback on Tuesday in the least-surprising news of the NFL offseason. Despite the Vikings branding this as a “quarterback battle,” it was always Murray’s job — and that’s become apparent in recent days during training camp. Now it’s caused unnecessary drama, as some onlookers at training camp believe that not only was McCarthy neck-and-neck in the battle, but that in recent days he out-performed the No. 1 overall pick who Minnesota signed this offseason.
There is no doubt that McCarthy was bad last year across his 10 games, and that Murray’s veteran experience made him the clear-cut answer for the job, but it was covered in unnecessary consternation. The Vikings knew that Murray would be their starter when they signed him, and if there wasn’t some sort of promise that he would be the starter, then Murray would have signed elsewhere. However, the Minnesota front office wanted to ease the eventual benching of McCarthy with the charade that this was really anyone’s job, when it wasn’t.
The attempt to pretend this was an open battle was predicated on the Vikings’ belief that Murray would win the job easily, but that was complicated by McCarthy playing quite well in camp up to this point, especially recently where it seemed like he was more comfortable in the new-look Vikings offense, especially on deep routes. It also raises questions of the team’s timing, and whether or not the decision to announce Murray as the starter right now was an effort to stop the bleeding after a weekend where Murray struggled, while McCarthy took strides ahead in the battle.
If there’s one thing about this Vikings team it’s that they routinely have messaging issues, almost as if its left and right hands struggle to be in concert. This was the case during Minnesota’s so-called “competitive rebuild,” which saw the Vikings attempt to rebuild its roster and be a successful playoff team in the process — not really achieving either, to the point where the franchise has been locked in draft purgatory without a good way to take the step forward. This was further accentuated this offseason with Justin Jefferson, who reportedly courted Murray to come and play with him, being forced to make public statements about how it didn’t matter who the QB was, and that he didn’t have a preference in the battle.
There’s always subterfuge in the NFL when it comes to making decisions in-season, but far too often the Vikings shroud their offseason plans in a cloak-and-dagger way that makes it feel as if the team itself doesn’t really have a plan. A throated, enthusiastic approach to Murray’s arrival, and naming him the starter from Day 1 would have felt better than what’s taken place. As for how McCarthy is handling all this: Look no further than Adam Schefter’s tweet, which might as well have come directly from McCarthy’s agent.
Ultimately the Vikings made their decision, and it is probably the right one. Murray is a known quantity at this point, and the team has to be aware that the pressure is on to ensure Justin Jefferson stays happy and doesn’t demand a trade if the offense can’t get back on track. The lack of chemistry between McCarthy and Jefferson killed the passing offense a year ago, and the team is needing to throw a Hail Mary (forgive the pun) to try and replicate their Sam Darnold luck from 2024 in the hopes they can become a serious threat in the NFC North.
Despite this being the right move, it was handled the absolutely wrong way — and fans are right to question the process that led to Murray being named the starter on Tuesday.