Should the Vikings Bench J.J. McCarthy? Making the Case for and Against a QB Change

In April 2024, the Minnesota Vikings traded up to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. At this point in the 22-year-old's sophomore season, it's fair to say he hasn't played up to expectations.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell announced on Monday that McCarthy is currently in the concussion protocol. If he isn't cleared to face the Seattle Seahawks this week, it appears undrafted rookie Max Brosmer will get the start:

Given McCarthy's struggles to this point, though, some may believe keeping him on the sideline, even if healthy, would benefit the Vikings.

The former Wolverine has gone just 2-4 as a starter, has thrown 10 interceptions in his six outings and has a dismal passer rating of 57.9. Making his underwhelming play appear worse is the fact that Minnesota's offense boasts the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones.

We saw Minnesota get more efficient and consistent play out of Carson Wentz early in the season, before the journeyman underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.

The results and statistics haven't been the only troubling aspect of McCarthy's play, either. He's struggling to process coverages and keeps making poor decisions, which have repeatedly led to interceptions. He also seems to have lingering mechanical issues that are affecting his accuracy on a play-to-play basis.

We've seen flashes of brilliance from McCarthy this season, but we've also seen outright disaster. At this point, he seems to be a legitimate liability for the Vikings.

McCarthy's play has been concerning enough that fans—and, most likely, the Vikings themselves—have to be wondering if he would benefit from another extended stint on the bench.

Benching a QB Who Was Never Ready to Start Might Help His Long-Term Outlook

We've seen quarterbacks struggle early in their career, spend a little time on the bench and then come back playing like a completely different passer. Notably, we saw Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young follow this path just last season.

Giving McCarthy a little time to regroup and reflect, theoretically, could aid his development and help preserve his confidence. Many of his issues are rooted in bad habits, and habits are hard to break in real time against real NFL defenses.

If McCarthy continues to give it his all while underperforming and limiting his team's offensive options, he could lose the self-confidence and leadership drive that made him attractive to Minnesota in the first place.

And right now, the Vikings are limiting their offense in order to cover McCarthy's shortcomings.

"It's about not putting the game in (McCarthy's) hands where the variance of a young quarterback will cost our whole team," head coach Kevin O'Connell said, per The Athletic's Alec Lewis. "There's a needle to thread there."

AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports recently made a strong case for benching McCarthy "for his own good" based on these reasons. Right now, allowing him to flounder on the field appears to be doing more harm than good for just about everyone involved.

And McCarthy's struggles shouldn't come as a surprise. He was a relatively raw prospect coming out of college, and he missed his entire rookie season following knee surgery. Opening the season with him as the starter might have been a bigger mistake than allowing him to play through his struggles—though Minnesota obviously can't turn back the clock.

Theoretically, the Vikings could give McCarthy a mental reset by sitting him for a stretch. The problem is that if he is healthy enough to play and is benched anyway, it could be equally damaging to his psyche.

The Vikings Are Short on QB Alternatives

There's a very real chance Minnesota put McCarthy on the field before he was ready. Teams do it all the time, but O'Connell, a former NFL QB himself, knows the dangers in doing so.

"In what world do you go from wearing a life vest and learning how to swim to being thrown in the deep end in the middle of a 200-meter freestyle against Michael Phelps?" the Vikings coach said in September, per The Athletic's Zak Keefer.

It certainly feels like McCarthy is drowning.

The biggest problem with benching McCarthy is that Brosmer is an undrafted rookie with just 19 snaps of regular-season experience on his resume. While the prospect of starting McCarthy against Seattle feels like a calamity waiting to unfold, would giving a rookie with even less experience be any better?

Well, maybe. The Minnesota product did show some impressive work during the preseason, and there's a non-zero chance his sounder mechanics and timing would actually give the Vikings a spark, at least for a week. That'll probably be the hope, anyway, if McCarthy doesn't clear the protocol in time.

However, flat-out benching McCarthy for Brosmer wouldn't be on par with Carolina's 2024 benching of Young for Andy Dalton. It wouldn't even be close.

The Panthers could sell the move to Young as an opportunity for him to sit and learn from a three-time Pro Bowler. The Vikings would effectively be telling their top-10 investment to have a seat and let an undrafted rookie show him how to play quarterback in the NFL.

That might break McCarthy's confidence even more than ongoing on-field struggles.

This puts O'Connell in a difficult spot. As the season goes on, he may have to choose between conceding the season is over or sending the message that McCarthy isn't "the guy."

O'Connell won't find the situation any easier to navigate if Brosmer does step in as an injury replacement and fares well.

There is a Third Option

The reality is that O'Connell's best chance to sit McCarthy for an extended period this season has already passed. The quarterback's ankle sprain allowed Minnesota to pivot to Wentz without making the switch a referendum on McCarthy's play.

Wentz is now on season-ending injured reserve, and 2024 veterans Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones are long gone. If the Vikings do bench McCarthy when he's healthy, it'll be for Brosmer, practice-squad QB John Wolford or a street free agent. At 4-7, going with one of those options "to provide a spark" wouldn't make a lot of sense.

AP Photo/George Walker IV

The good news is that if Minnesota can make it through Week 13, regardless of who is behind center, McCarthy may get a chance at late-season redemption. Barring a surprise, things probably won't go well against the Seahawks this week, but then the schedule softens defensively.

After Seattle, Minnesota will face the Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Detroit Lions before finishing against the Green Bay Packers. While Dallas' defense has improved since the trade deadline, the next four games should give the Vikings chances to make strides against what have largely been subpar pass defenses.

For McCarthy, that could mean the opportunity to find a rhythm, work through his some of his issues and end the season on a high note. Ideally, that would give O'Connell some more good tape on McCarthy to carry into the offseason.

Let's not simply ignore the fact that McCarthy did have a pretty impressive game the last time he faced Detroit.

If McCarthy flops during that easier four-game stretch, O'Connell could then turn to Brosmer or Wolford for the final game or two under the guise that the season is lost and he's simply looking out for McCarthy's long-term health—with the Michigan product's injury history and with an offensive line that has surrendered 39 sacks, that's an idea he could reasonably sell.

Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, it would behoove Minnesota to bring back Wentz or add another experienced veteran in the offseason. Doing so would provide insurance, could help push McCarthy and may give the Vikings a surprise starter a la Jones this season with the Indianapolis Colts.

However, keeping McCarthy on the sideline, especially to give Brosmer an extended look, could create a point of no return.

There may come a time when the Vikings decide that McCarthy isn't the answer, but it shouldn't be after less than half a season of starts.