“Your job is to just fight through the down with the possession of football,” Kevin O’Connell told JJ McCarthy during a teaching moment this week, a window into how Minnesota is calibrating urgency with patience for its QB1-in-waiting. He’s competitive, O’Connell added, “a competitive sucker,” and the Vikings are trying to harness that edge without overexposing their second-year passer in August. It’s the kind of coach-quarterback dialogue that hardcore fans lean in for because it foreshadows how the Vikings will actually call games when it counts.

So, what does the ramp-up look like when the franchise’s bet at quarterback is returning from a lost rookie year and still re-learning timing under live bullets? O’Connell confirmed McCarthy will play in the preseason opener against Houston. But the plan is intentionally tight on volume and heavy on value. The Vikings view this week’s joint practices as the true workload window for their starters. The subtext is clear: they want McCarthy sharp, not shelved; tested, not taxed. That approach also tracks after last year’s preseason snapped his year before it began, making him the rare first-round QB in the modern era to miss his entire rookie season due to injury.

But here’s the call. JJ McCarthy will suit up Saturday versus the Texans, get his first live reps since the knee injury, and likely see limited action before yielding to Sam Howell and Brett Rypien the rest of the way, with joint practices against the Patriots set to replace further preseason snaps for the ones. O’Connell framed it simply: “You’d love to play him as much as possible,” but those joint sessions are the “real days,” with the door open to adjust if the staff feels they need more work later. For a staff that has separated McCarthy’s camp into “great moments” and “unbelievable teaching moments,” this is the pragmatic path to Week 1 readiness without courting unnecessary risk.

And it comes as the backup picture adds tension rather than relief. Howell needs a strong August to lock down QB2, and the early returns have been rocky enough that Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller didn’t mince words after a rough session: “If you played Sam Howell right now, you’re not scoring any touchdowns at all… I wouldn’t be shocked if they were on the phone today,” he said, calling it “one of the worst practices you will see from any quarterback,” while acknowledging it could still click with time.

That’s not a verdict; it’s a siren for urgency, and it heightens the importance of McCarthy maximizing a slim preseason runway while the staff protects the long view. KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reported: “For #Vikings today, expect a quick day for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, perhaps eight to 10 plays or so.”

Vikings brass has been open about the balancing act. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert relayed how O’Connell is drilling situational discipline, for instance, coaching McCarthy off a risky across-the-body throw in a two-minute drill to take the free yards and live for 2nd down. That message aligns with what the Vikings actually need from their QB1 out of the gate: win weighty downs, suppress giveaways, and take layups against pressure rather than hunting hero throws into trap coverages. The defense under Brian Flores is bringing heat in camp, by design, and the staff is grading the quarterback as much on decisions after the snap as on the ball flight itself.

For Kevin O’Connell and JJ McCarthy, August success means smart reps over flashy stats

There’s a broader layer here beyond snap counts. O’Connell emphasized growth markers, technique, fundamentals, and situational judgement as the primary evaluation buckets for McCarthy’s camp, not raw completion percentage against Flores’ pressure looks. That’s consistent with how Minnesota managed Sam Darnold a year ago and how they’re framing the 2025 install: teach the quarterback when to take the hitch, when to climb, and when to eat the play, then let Justin Jefferson and a pair of plus tight ends handle yards after the catch.

For fans watching Saturday, the checklist is simple and unsexy, and that’s the point. Clean operation under center and in gun. Rhythm on the quick game. The willingness to check it down against simulated pressure. One or two on-time shots to the boundary to show the footwork has synced back up to NFL timing. O’Connell’s comments point to a coach grading the decision tree as much as the stat line, and that’s the right rubric for a QB entering Year 2 who missed all of Year 1 live reps. If the opener delivers that, and nothing more, the Vikings will call it a win and keep building through the Patriots week.

Because in a month, those same decisions will land with real weight on 3rd-and-6, and the margin in the NFC North is too thin to hope the answers just appear. The Vikings don’t need fireworks in August. They need evidence the fuse is wired correctly for the fall.