Asked Point Blank about J.J. McCarthy’s Roster Status, The Vikings’ GM Offered a 2-Word Answer

Does Nolan Teasley think that J.J. McCarthy is going to be on the Vikings’ roster in Week 1? His answer: “I do.”

A man of few words.

Earlier today, the Vikings’ GM chatted with the Minnesota media. Doing so allowed the newcomer in the front office to peel back the curtain on identifying talent, his view on the importance of the practice squad, and the impact of the young fellas. So, too, did get hit with several questions about the Vikings’ passer situation.

The Vikings’ GM is Direct Yet Vague on J.J. McCarthy

In his debut preseason game back in 2024, J.J. McCarthy shined. It’s been downhill since.

After that Raiders game in August of 2024, McCarthy discovered he had a season-ending knee injury. He then recovered and became the full-time starter in 2025. His issues, though, were multiple. Most prominently, McCarthy has various other ailments come up. Worse yet, his on-field play was poor, to say the least. Part of what made all of that extra painful is that Sam Darnold led Seattle to the Super Bowl.

Minnesota responded in a few ways. For starters, the GM who drafted J.J. McCarthy — Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — got canned. The fill-in GM — cap wizard Rob Brzezinski — then signed Kyler Murray for a mere $1.3 million. Murray has been the starter for several weeks now. He’ll be given every opportunity to fully solidify the Vikings’ QB1 job for the 2026 season and onward from there.

Where does that leave J.J. McCarthy? That’s reasonably uncertain.

Mr. Teasley isn’t nearly as chatty as his predecessor. Nor, for that matter, is he anywhere as close to as talkative as Kevin O’Connell. Maybe that’s a good thing even if it makes the media’s job a little more difficult.

How does he understand McCarthy’s job? “To continue to develop, to improve, and to support his teammates.”

Does the Vikings’ GM think that McCarthy is going to be on the roster in Week 1? “I do.”

Is he the main backup? “I wouldn’t really necessarily comment on depth.”

Is McCarthy healthy? “He’s practiced fully the last two days.”

Have teams been calling about trading for McCarthy? “That’s something I’ll probably keep internal. We get calls all the time.”

Teasley, in short, knows how to keep his answers short. In a lot of these moments, he offered some more words but not a ton that is too revealing. In fact, Teasley’s final answer was about the passer, noting that “he has the hardest job in sport, he’s only started ten games, and his story is not written.”

Getting Nolan Teasley to offer a bold, juicy quote isn’t going to be easy. His tendency appears to involve being restrained in his optimism while being avoidant with some political answers.

Best guess on this end of the internet is that McCarthy will be the top backup rolling into Week 1. But, to be sure, reasonable minds can disagree on that take. Carson Wentz is a rock-solid, tough game manager who has a history of playing strong football. Better yet, the veteran arm has a nice rapport with Justin Jefferson, so there’s something to be said for bumping the veteran up to that QB2 role.

Kevin O’Connell is going to get the final call on the passer hierarchy. He wasn’t available to the media alongside Teasley.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.