The Minnesota Vikings are now in training camp, and that means that the quarterback battle between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy. The early signs heading into camp indicated that this could already be Murray's job to lose, but is it? What we have seen in training camp has been a mixed bag for both men, but on Friday, there was an interesting development.
Inside his training camo notes, ESPN's Kevin Seifert shared his latest notes as it relates to the position battle. In them, he discussed the day that Kyler Murray had, which was among his best.
Seifert recapped practice, writing, "Murray was on the field for 16 of the first-team offense's 22 snaps in 11-on-11 team drills. McCarthy took the other six. Murray hit receiver Justin Jefferson on a deep
dig route over the middle and he threw another perfectly placed pass on his next series that receiver Myles Price dropped. All three of Murray's passes to Jefferson were complete, and Price's drop was Murray's only incompletion among seven passes in team drills."
.@k1 ➡️ @JJettas2 ✈️ pic.twitter.com/H9T3ao6Lan
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 2, 2026
Seifert also discussed the play of J.J. McCarthy, which was not near the level of Murray's, based on all accounts from the day.
"McCarthy did not find similar success while working mostly with the second team against the first-team defense. He threw one pass on the run that rookie linebacker Jake Golday tipped, and was intercepted by linebacker Blake Cashman. McCarthy's best throw of the day came during a stint with the first team, but tight end T.J. Hockenson was unable to come up with the ball in traffic in the end zone."
Social media was buzzing with takeaways from practice, including the Vikings sharing one throw. It is worth remembering that we are still very early in training camp, and a lot is left to go in this battle.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Vikings QB Battle Update: Kyler Murray has a big day on Saturday
