The Athletic’s Diana Russini has become one of the biggest antagonists of Minnesota Vikings fans this year.
Her intel on the Aaron Rodgers flirtation before the NFL Draft was spun as doubts of J.J. McCarthy as the team’s starter, and since then, she has enabled misguided critiques of the 22-year-old quarterback by Colin Cowherd.
On “The Herd,” Russini responded to Cowherd’s criticism that McCarthy is propped up by his teams, pointing to the lack of fanfare coming out of Vikings training camp.
“Do I think J.J. McCarthy is wowing everyone at training camp? No, I don’t… [Vikings fans] are going to be disappointed,” she said.
Russini picked a good day to attend Vikings training camp. Russini visited on the second day of joint practices with the New England Patriots, which was considered McCarthy’s best practice as a Viking yet.
Sitting with Kevin O’Connell after practice, Russini acknowledged the backlash she’s faced this past year, leading to an awkward moment with the Vikings head coach, who did not come to her defense.
“We appreciate you coming on, on Season 1, when we were just this little baby that nobody was listening or watching,” she said to O’Connell. “Now, every single Vikings blog listens to every episode… and they love me.”
Crickets…
“Thanks for coming out and spending some time with us,” O’Connell deadpanned as he looked off-camera away from Russini.
Vikings Remain Poised With J.J. McCarthy
If you know O’Connell, the Vikings head coach does not deal in hyperbole.
His organization has tempered expectations of whoever is their quarterback and touted respecting the process and development.
Entering August last offseason, reports out of training camp weren’t sterling of Sam Darnold, who had his growing pains with the installation of O’Connell’s offense and facing Brian Flores’ defense every day.
Darnold turned a corner on the second day of joint practices against the Cleveland Browns, much like McCarthy did on Thursday against the Patriots.
According to Boston Herald Patriots beat reporter Andrew Callahan, McCarthy went 14-for-16 with five touchdowns during red-zone and two-minute drills, which included 13 straight completions. McCarthy’s performance was evidence that he can be the driver of an offense that is anticipated to be among the most productive in the NFL.
However, O’Connell rarely lets him or his players get too far ahead of themselves.
“The foundation of developing quarterbacks is not an overnight thing, it’s not a flash reaction,” O’Connell told Russini. “That’s what gets organizations into trouble sometimes, when you want so badly to look a certain way and be a certain way from the very beginning, but what are you doing as a coach as an organizaiton, as a teammate, as one of 11 in the huddle with said player to make sure we do everything in our power to give the best possible chance to have success.”
J.J. McCarthy Checked the Final Box for the Vikings
GettyVikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy embarks on his first year as a starter entering the 2025 NFL season.
When the Vikings selected McCarthy 10th overall in the 2024 draft, the team was in no rush to thrust him into the starting role by signing Darnold as a veteran safeguard.
McCarthy had benchmarks for himself to reach, and was trending toward being greenlit before his injury in the 2024 preseason opener.
It’s been a long recovery for the young quarterback, who returned to play in a game at U.S. Bank Stadium last week.
However, after joint practices, O’Connell had seen enough, saying McCarthy will not play the Patriots in the preseason matchup this week.
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