EAGAN, Minn. — And now I’ve hit half the league. Here’s more from my 16th training camp stop, checking in with the Vikings.
• My timing was good, with this being the day that the Vikings named Kyler Murray the team’s quarterback. So what pushed it over the top? Murray, through camp, showed accuracy and an improved ability to play with rhythm and timing. His athleticism was also a factor in how he’ll impact coverage, changing the math by forcing teams to either spy him or play a lot of zone coverage against a dangerous group of Minnesota receivers. There are also a ton of possibilities for what the offense will do for Murray. From there, the decision came down to what was best for the Vikings in 2026, and coach Kevin O’Connell has emphasized that would be the case all along. After last year, he felt like he owed it to his veteran team to give answers at the most important position in the league, and then pick the best player for the position. In this case, it was Murray. As for J.J. McCarthy, I will say folks here have lauded his handling of the competition, and the receiving the news this morning. He’s taken jumps fundamentally and technique-wise, and the hope is he keeps developing behind the scenes and plays a little faster and with more accuracy, which can come with time. Another thing to consider here is that had McCarthy won the job, it’d probably have taken only about a handful of off-target throws for things to get really noisy about his job security. This result means that won’t be happening. And the best way to look at this now, with a proven commodity at quarterback (and 514 practice snaps in camp in the bank), the Vikings can project, rather than just hope.
