It was the 2024 pre-season when JJ McCarthy injured his knee and missed the whole season. It would have been a life-changing year for him to show off his skills on the highest football platform, but he did not play a single game. But after the Vikings’ offseason began, McCarthy’s comeback started coming into the discussion. Moreover, in the free agency, Kevin O’Connell even rejected star veterans like Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold. Looks like the QB1 position for 2025 year gonna be a cakewalk for JJ, huh? But there is a catch. 

The Vikings HC has given a crazy update on whether JJ McCarthy will be the QB1 or not. But wait a minute… Before we move on to McCarthy, let’s just take a look at what new announcement the Vikings made on May 8 and what’s fueling doubts. The franchise posted a picture of coaches on their X page while naming new draft prospects who received contracts from the franchise. The twitter/X post said, “The #Vikings have signed draft picks @Taifelton, @TID9ine3, @KobekingCTFB and @GavinBartholom6.” But there is one problem. 

As Kevin Seifert of ESPN reported, “With rookie camp this weekend, all draft picks except round 1 OL Donovan Jackson has signed their first contracts. (Jackson can still participate.)” The wide receiver Tai Felton, edge rusher Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, linebacker Kobe King, and tight end Gavin Bartholomew, who were signed after Donovan Jackson, received the preferred treatment. 

No one has yet revealed why he remained unsigned alongside the other drafted players. It was a shocking update, as the Vikings’ 24th overall was the national champion of the 2024 season of college football. He played 14 games in the 2024 season while taking 816 offensive snaps. Donovan also had 394 run block snaps and 422 pass block snaps. And most importantly, he allowed only two sacks in the entire season to Will Howard, who was later picked up by the Steelers. 

But while this contract drama is in the pipeline, JJ McCarthy’s QB1 future is in trouble, as the head coach of the team refused to label JJ as QB1. Let’s dive in to know more. 

Will JJ McCarthy not be QB1 in 2025? 

After San Darnold’s departure, the Vikings were expected to search for a new QB for the starting job as JJ McCarthy’s recovery wasn’t confirmed. Another reason for the Vikings’ desperate search was because the 2023 CFP Champion QB had not yet played a single NFL game. So, while these two confusions were swirling down in the city, McCarthy came out of the woods and firmly said to the world, “I know I’m ready to start.” After this confirmation, the debates started that he would be the starting QB. At that time, around March 2025, Kevin O’Connell also rejected Aaron Rodgers’ attempt to enter the roster. 

So, it looks like JJ McCarthy will be getting the QB1 job, right? Well, that’s not confirmed. Yes, the head coach of the franchise has refused to name JJ McCarthy as QB1 in a recent interview. When Kevin O’Connell was on the Rich Eisen show, he said, “JJ is going to be in a great position to assume and ascend in our organization. But right now, we really don’t have any feelings on competition as much as we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in a position to attack that competition phase.”

He also added, “Sam [Howell] will be a part of it. But we’ve got to get Sam ready to play. We’ve got to get Brett Rypien ready to play. Excited about our quarterback room, but now it’s our job to go coach them.” Sam Howell is a 2022 5th-round pick and will be playing for the Vikings for the first time this year. 

So, JJ McCarthy is going to be competing against Sam Howell, who has played 21 games in his three-year career. Howell played those 21 games while passing for 4,139 yards and completing 404 out of 645 passes at a 62.6% rate. It’s clear that there will be no fierce competition in the training camps provided JJ McCarthy pulls up hard in those practice sessions.