The Minnesota Vikings are reaching an impasse on how to handle J.J. McCarthy‘s first season as a starter.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell has pushed a trial by fire for McCarthy, ramping up his amount of dropbacks with each start. On Sunday, that plan proved catastrophic.
In a 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, McCarthy completed 20 of 42 pass attempts (47.6%) for one touchdown and two interceptions in an aggressive game plan that saw him riled up and becoming more erratic with his throws as the game wore on.
O’Connell has demonstrated throughout his tenure that his optimism in his quarterbacks to rise to the standard of his offense can come back to bite the team. He continues to test McCarthy amid his first season as a starter. But after McCarthy threw two interceptions and was under center for eight false start calls, something’s got to give with the operational workload for the 22-year-old.
That’s led SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad to urge the Vikings to change offensive play callers.
“This isn’t to say O’Connell should never call plays again. But after watching McCarthy complete 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the Vikings’ 27-19 loss to Baltimore on Sunday, it’s become clear O’Connell is more focused on having McCarthy adjust to what he wants as opposed to what McCarthy does well,” Zulgad wrote on his Substack.
“The most likely candidate would be offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, but the smarter move would be to have quarterbacks coach Josh McCown assume the duties.”
Why Josh McCown Should Take Over Vikings Play Calling
The case for McCown to take over as play caller starts from his pedigree as a player with 76 starts over 16 seasons to his name.
“I refuse to believe a guy that mentored quarterbacks and played quarterback in the league for that long would get the play-calling sheet and freeze up, and become terrible,” Zulgad said on SKOR North’s “Purple Daily” show. “I think he deserves a chance, largely because I think Kevin O’Connell has shown that he is not the best man, right now…. to call plays for J.J. McCarthy.”
O’Connell needs to strike a balance of how much to put on McCarthy’s plate with what will make the offense successful.
However, unchecked optimism can lead to results like on Sunday — and there is plenty in the building in Minnesota.
McCown’s primary responsibility is to mentor McCarthy. He likely has a stronger sense of what the young quarterback is grasping versus what he believes he can do than O’Connell.
Is O’Connell Overwhelming McCarthy? The Vikings Have Little Choice
O’Connell finds himself in the midst of a long-term project of developing McCarthy into a franchise quarterback.
Ideally, McCarthy would be further along in his development, but injuries have prevented him from starting just four games as he approaches the halfway point of his rookie deal.
That doesn’t change the Vikings’ timeline.
They need to gain a full picture of what they have in McCarthy as he enters a pivotal third season that will set the tone for their quarterback plan beyond 2026, as many members of the offense enter the twilight of their primes. The average age of the Vikings’ 10 highest-paid players in 2027 is 29.7. Those players need someone ready to win now.
O’Connell seems persistent in his faith that McCarthy can rise to the exploits his offense offers like Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins did. Coddling McCarthy this season may not give the Vikings a clear picture of his ultimate upside moving forward.
But if there’s another clunker like in Week 10, it may be time to step off the throttle a bit and find a comfortable cruising altitude for McCarthy.
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