Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy Open QB1 Competition in New Videos from Vikings OTAs

The battle for the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback job got underway Wednesday as part of organized team activities.

Videos of both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy getting their throws in were posted by the NFL's official X account, and the Vikings posted a video of Murray participating in his first OTA practice with the team as well:

After an up-and-down 2025 season from McCarthy, the Vikings brought in some competition by signing Murray to a one-year contract after the Arizona Cardinals released him this offseason.

Minnesota's quarterback situation has largely been unsettled since Kirk Cousins departed via free agency during the 2024 offseason.

The Vikings had Sam Darnold as their starter for one season, and he led them to a 14-3 record and a playoff berth, but when he opted to sign with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency last offseason, Minnesota went even younger at the position.

In the 2024 NFL draft, the Vikings took McCarthy 10th overall out of Michigan. There was some thought that he would push Darnold for the starting job as a rookie, but a knee injury caused him to miss the entire campaign.

McCarthy was back in 2025, however, and the Vikings gave him the first crack at establishing himself as their new franchise quarterback.

While McCarthy started the most games of any Vikings quarterback with 10, various injuries caused him to miss seven contests.

McCarthy went a solid 6-4 in his 10 starts, but he completed only 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while rushing for 181 yards and four scores.

As a team, the Vikings ranked 29th in passing offense, 28th in total offense and 26th in scoring offense.

In an effort to give the offense a shot in the arm, the Vikings brought in Murray to push McCarthy and potentially take the starting job.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Murray was the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he earned two Pro Bowl selections over his seven seasons in Arizona.

Murray went only 38-48-1 with one playoff appearance during his time as the Cardinals' starter, but he put up solid numbers, completing 67.1 percent of his passing attempts for 20,460 yards, 121 touchdowns and 60 picks to go along with 3,193 yards and 32 touchdowns on the ground.

It is fair to wonder if Murray is the answer or if a team can truly contend with him under center, but he has shown an ability to connect with high-end offensive weapons in the past, and Minnesota has plenty of those, led by wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

The QB1 competition between Murray and McCarthy could take all training camp and preseason to decide, and even then, it is far from guaranteed that only one of them will be the starter for the entirety of the 2026 season.