J.J. McCarthy’s career has taken a path almost nobody envisioned when the Minnesota Vikings selected him 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He was supposed to be the long-term answer at quarterback.
Instead, as Minnesota prepares for Week 1 of the 2026 season, McCarthy is no longer the starter.
He may not even be the backup.
The Vikings are entering the season with Kyler Murray as QB1 and Carson Wentz as QB2, leaving McCarthy in what general manager Nolan Teasley described Wednesday as a developmental role.
That naturally raises a much bigger question:
What happened to J.J. McCarthy?
Is J.J. McCarthy Still on the Vikings?
Yes.
Despite speculation about a potential trade or even his place on Minnesota’s final roster, Teasley said Wednesday that he expects McCarthy to remain with the Vikings when the regular season begins.
His current assignment is straightforward: continue developing, improve and support the quarterbacks ahead of him. Teasley also stressed that Minnesota has not closed the book on the former first-round selection.
That distinction matters.
The Vikings aren’t publicly treating McCarthy as a failed draft pick.
They’re treating him as a quarterback whose development has been significantly delayed.
Why Is J.J. McCarthy Not Starting?
There isn’t one single reason.
It’s a combination of injuries, limited experience and Minnesota finding more reliable short-term options.
McCarthy’s rookie season never really began. A torn meniscus in his right knee forced him to miss all of 2024.
He finally got on the field in 2025, but his first season as an NFL starter was again disrupted. A high ankle sprain and concussion limited him to just 10 games.
That means a quarterback entering his third NFL season has only 10 regular-season starts.
For perspective, plenty of rookies accumulate more experience than that before Thanksgiving.
Minnesota eventually decided it needed more certainty.
Kyler Murray Won the Starting Job
The Vikings added Kyler Murray after Arizona moved on from its longtime starting quarterback.
Minnesota then held a quarterback competition during training camp, and Murray emerged as the team’s Week 1 starter.
Murray brings something McCarthy simply does not have yet:
Experience.
He is entering his eighth NFL season and has spent years as a full-time starter. Minnesota’s official roster information confirms Murray will make his Vikings debut against Green Bay in Week 1.
For a roster containing players such as Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and an experienced offensive line, the Vikings clearly decided Murray gave them their best chance to win immediately.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they believe he has a higher long-term ceiling than McCarthy.
It means they believe he is more ready right now.
Carson Wentz Complicated Things Even More
This may be the part that gets overlooked.
Losing the starting competition to Murray is understandable.
Falling behind Carson Wentz creates a different conversation.
Wentz has 99 career NFL starts and already spent last season in Minnesota, starting five games. That familiarity and experience make him an attractive insurance policy behind Murray.
And that’s where McCarthy currently appears to have landed.
Third.
Murray gives Minnesota its veteran starter.
Wentz gives Minnesota its veteran backup.
McCarthy becomes the developmental quarterback.
That’s not where anyone expected the 10th overall pick to be entering Year 3.
Another Ankle Injury Didn’t Help
McCarthy’s preseason wasn’t clean, either.
He suffered another ankle injury on Aug. 22 during Minnesota’s second preseason game.
According to ESPN’s reporting, McCarthy later told team officials he was uncomfortable playing in the Vikings’ Aug. 28 preseason finale against Denver. He has since returned to practice and participated fully Monday and Tuesday.
That matters because this is becoming the central theme of his young career.
Every time McCarthy appears ready to accumulate meaningful repetitions, something interrupts the process.
Knee.
Ankle.
Concussion.
Another ankle issue.
Quarterback development requires thousands of live repetitions.
McCarthy simply hasn’t gotten enough of them.
Are the Vikings Giving Up on J.J. McCarthy?
Publicly, absolutely not.
Teasley made a point of defending McCarthy’s talent Wednesday.
The Vikings still see the arm strength.
They still see the athleticism.
They still remember why he was selected in the first round.
And Teasley emphasized the most important piece of context:
McCarthy has only started 10 NFL games.
That is the strongest argument for patience.
Quarterbacks develop at different speeds.
McCarthy’s timeline has been unusually difficult because he effectively lost an entire developmental season before his career even started.
Declaring him finished at 23 or 24 years old would be premature.
But pretending everything is proceeding according to plan would be equally unrealistic.
It isn’t.
Could the Vikings Trade J.J. McCarthy?
That’s where this situation becomes especially interesting.
Teasley declined to say whether Minnesota has discussed McCarthy in trade conversations.
For now, there isn’t much incentive to rush.
McCarthy remains on his rookie contract.
Young quarterbacks with first-round traits carry value.
And neither Murray nor Wentz represents a guaranteed long-term solution.
If Minnesota moved McCarthy now, it would potentially be selling at the lowest point of his value.
The smarter option may be exactly what the Vikings are doing:
Keep him.
Let him develop.
See what happens.
Quarterback situations change quickly in the NFL.
What Is J.J. McCarthy’s Contract Situation?
McCarthy is still playing under the rookie contract he signed after being selected in the first round in 2024.
That gives Minnesota additional time before it must make a larger financial decision.
The Vikings therefore aren’t facing the urgency that would exist if McCarthy were approaching unrestricted free agency.
That makes a developmental season considerably easier to tolerate.
Could J.J. McCarthy Start Again?
Absolutely.
Being third on the depth chart in September doesn’t mean he’ll remain there forever.
Murray could struggle.
Wentz could struggle.
Injuries happen.
Or McCarthy could simply improve enough in practice that Minnesota eventually moves him back up the depth chart.
What he can’t afford is another season without meaningful progress.
At some point, potential has to become production.
And 2026 feels increasingly important in determining whether that happens in Minnesota.
The Reality
I don’t think J.J. McCarthy is finished.
I do think his career is at its first genuine crossroads.
The Vikings were willing to wait through the lost rookie season.
They were willing to live with the inconsistency and injuries of 2025.
What they weren’t willing to do was enter another season hoping McCarthy would suddenly become ready.
That’s why Kyler Murray is starting.
That’s why Carson Wentz is backing him up.
And that’s why McCarthy has returned to the developmental role everyone hoped he would have graduated from by now.
Teasley said Wednesday that McCarthy’s story “is not written.”
He’s right.
But we’re far enough into the book that the next chapter matters.
A lot.
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