Unlike any other franchise in the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings have a strange habit of moving on from their quarterbacks in their early stages. In the last 30 years, they have started with 27 different quarterbacks. This QB instability has always been a problem for the franchise, and it seemed like something that could trouble them this season as well, considering they had JJ McCarthy and Kyler Murray as options. But the announcement of Murray as their QB1 for the upcoming NFL season has left another tale in their quarterback folklore. But this time, more fingers are being raised at their head coach Kevin O’Connell.
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According to former Super Bowl champion Chris Canty, this frequent hopping of QBs would reflect more poorly on Kevin O’Connell than the franchise’s drafted quarterback JJ McCarthy.
“Oh, it’s a bigger indictment on Kevin O’Connell. And here’s the reason why. You’re talking about the organization missing on three quarterback evaluations in the last calendar year,” Chris Canty said on ESPN’s First Take podcast. “And what I mean by that is this, not only did you miss on the decision to start J.J. McCarthy and draft J.J. McCarthy ultimately, but you missed when it came to your evaluation of Sam Darnold, and you missed when it came to your evaluation of Daniel Jones and how that would impact overall team success.”
“The default is the fact that you have to sign Kyler Murray in free agency, and you agree to a contract where there’s no franchise tag clogs in place,” Chris Canty added. “But the misses on all of those quarterback evaluations is more of an indictment on the head coach than it is on J.J. McCarthy.”
O’Connell has given analysts ample events to speak on. After a not-so-happening 2025 NFL season for McCarthy, where he started 10 games and threw for just 1,632 yards while scoring 11 touchdowns. Instead of exploring and developing McCarthy, O’Connell brought in free-agent Kyler Murray from the Arizona Cardinals for $1.3 million to add to the competition for the QB1 role.
According to Pro Football Reference, Murray showed flashes in his limited action last season, appearing in five games and throwing for 962 yards and six touchdowns. The gap between him and McCarthy may not be as wide as it seems, especially considering Murray’s season was cut short by a foot injury against the Tennessee Titans in Week 5.
However, Murray has the edge on experience. He has been a franchise quarterback for a longer duration than McCarthy, although he has only managed to lead the Cardinals to the playoffs once.
Just last week, Kevin O’Connell named Kyler Murray his QB1 after the veteran won the training camp battle over J.J. McCarthy. The decision marked another turn in the Vikings’ recent quarterback carousel.
Kyler Murray on being QB1
“I didn’t expect to be handed the job or anything like that,” Murray told reporters. “I just expected to come here and compete. I’m very appreciative of how it was handled.”
Murray, however, made it clear that he never expected the starting job to be handed to him.
That perspective adds another layer to a decision that has already put O’Connell under the spotlight, especially after the Vikings moved on from both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones to give McCarthy an opportunity.
Before leading the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl, Darnold had his best season with the Vikings. He started all 17 games in 2024, throwing for a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. Still, O’Connell and the Vikings chose to move forward with McCarthy, prioritizing the development of their first-round quarterback.
Darnold was not the only one the Vikings moved on from. Their QB2, Daniel Jones, was also let go with Darnold to clear the path for McCarthy.
With Canty questioning three quarterback evaluations in a short span, the pressure is no longer only on McCarthy to prove he can be the answer. O’Connell must also prove that his decisions at the position have been right.