What does Carson Wentz's return to Vikings mean for J.J. McCarthy's future in Minnesota?
The Vikings have added two veteran quarterbacks in the past week, raising questions about the plan for McCarthy and whether he will remain in purple.
The Vikings might not have been very active in free agency this month, but that doesn’t mean their offseason has lacked intrigue. Not with all the questions the team has raised about a quarterback position it hoped was set a year ago.
The latest development came on Thursday morning when the Vikings brought back veteran Carson Wentz on a one-year contract. The move didn’t come as a surprise given there had been reports the team wanted to re-sign Wentz.
The move came a week after the Vikings signed Kyler Murray to a one-year, $1.3 million contract following his release from the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings have been attempting to tell everyone that Murray would compete for the job, and up to this point the assumption was that battle would be with J.J. McCarthy.
That would leave Wentz as the No. 3 quarterback, and it’s difficult to believe he signed on March 19 to accept a role as the backup to the backup. It’s more likely that Murray will open training camp as the starter with Wentz behind him. In fact, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported this week that O'Connell had told Murray “he was the one guy on the market that (the Vikings) could see as a potential longer-range answer, rather than a one-year Band-Aid.”
The Vikings can’t be blamed for wanting more quarterback depth after what happened last season when injuries to McCarthy and Wentz forced Max Brosmer into taking on a role he wasn’t ready to assume. Privately, the Vikings also could point to the fact that McCarthy wasn’t nearly as ready for the starting job as they had hoped.
But if McCarthy is headed for the No. 3 job that raises questions about whether the Vikings see a future for him in Minnesota — especially if they are telling Murray he might be the guy long term. Considering McCarthy was the 10th pick in the 2024 draft and has made only 10 NFL starts, this seems incredibly early to put the 23-year-old in mothballs but that might be how this is trending.
The Vikings aren’t going to be forthcoming about this, but the backup situation appears to come down to how much trust coach Kevin O’Connell has in McCarthy compared to Wentz. Murray has missed significant time in two of the past three seasons, sitting out 12 games in 2025 and nine in 2023.
Wentz, 33, went 2-3 in five starts for the Vikings last season with a 65.1 completion percentage, six touchdowns, five interceptions and an 85.8 passer rating. His season came to an end in a 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in late October after Wentz tried to play through what appeared to be immense pain in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. He underwent season-ending surgery in November to repair a torn labrum and fractured shoulder.
There has been speculation that if Wentz hadn’t gotten injured McCarthy wouldn’t have reclaimed the starting job. Wentz is far from perfect, but he’s a veteran who had a better understanding of what O’Connell wanted from his quarterback.
If the Vikings are going to keep McCarthy, you have to wonder exactly how much they will be able to work on his development. Murray, 28, will be entering his eighth NFL season, but this will be his first time playing in O’Connell’s offense and veteran quarterbacks have talked about just how much there is to learn.