EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The starting quarterback audition that will shape this season for the Minnesota Vikings and perhaps define multiple careers is clearly the featured attraction during training camp.
For as consequential as this competition will be, Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy and their teammates have no interest in intensifying the spotlight or indulging in feelings about the process. The players themselves are trying to keep things as cool as they
can.
“I’m not really too focused on the long-term vision of it,” Murray said Wednesday before the team's first formal practice of camp. “I’m really just focused on process, and that’s day to day, trying to put my best foot forward, and proving to the guys and the coaches what I’m capable of.”
McCarthy brings a decidedly different resume, style and personality to this derby, but his public stance on his approach to trying to keep the same job he had last year sure sounded similar to Murray's.
“It’s just refining every little detail, leaving no stone unturned and just trying to get better in every aspect,” said McCarthy, whose injuries have limited him to 10 starts in two seasons since he was drafted with the 10th overall pick in 2024. “That’s a constant battle with yourself every single day until you hang ’em up.”
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was remarkably transparent in his news conference this week about the plan for dividing up drills in practice between the two. Murray went first with the first team Wednesday, but the repetitions were equally split.
“It’s going to be more by certain periods. Maybe a guy’s gotten a little bit more third down work, so then we’ll make sure we try to even it out,” O'Connell said. “But I will say this, and I told the quarterbacks: ‘We don’t need to make this 50-50.’ It’s going to be that way to start when we’re on a time crunch, but when we get into some longer practices and some move-the-ball periods, there’s some periods where the amount of plays is unknown sometimes as you really start to get into what real football is.”
The Vikings made a series of moves to address their problems on offense last season, hiring former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith as the assistant head coach with a particular focus on the running game, promoting Keith Carter to offensive line coach, and shoring up their offensive line depth after injuries frequently ravaged their 2025 lineup.
Murray, of course, was the most seismic change after McCarthy's rocky debut. As the first overall pick in the 2019 draft with 87 starts and more than 20,000 passing yards in his career, Murray is the clear favorite to win this competition. But O'Connell has committed to opening it up, and McCarthy has said he believes him.
“My job’s to make it right for either of them, so that’s kind of all I can focus on,” right tackle Brian O'Neill said. “It’s just like any other guy and any other position battle. That’s really what it is from my perspective.”
Murray mentioned earlier the challenge of mastering a new offense without taking all of the turns with the first team, but he said Wednesday he feels much better about the playbook after going through spring practices and continuing to immerse himself in it over the last six weeks.
McCarthy, too, said he has recovered from the time lost and the rhythm interrupted by his late-season injuries.
“I felt like I was hitting that upward trajectory, and I’m certain it’s still been going up since then,” he said.
The five-time captain and two-time Pro Bowl pick O'Neill will enter his ninth season with the security of a $96 million contract extension that stretches through 2030, a deal he signed Tuesday as players reported. He savored the commitment from his only NFL team but said he wasn't ready to reflect yet on his journey.
“I want to be most proud of when I’m done here that we went on a couple runs and gave ourselves a chance at the big one and turned this thing around and got over the proverbial hump,” O'Neill said.
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