Both Murray and McCarthy Need to Talk More Vanilla while Focusing on Job at Hand

Judging by the media coverage of Vikings OTAs and minicamp, it appears the alleged quarterback competition—if it truly exists—between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy is the only thing of interest currently taking place at the Vikings facility.

We hear a few tidbits about the offensive tackles—Christian Darrisaw is feeling great after dealing with his ACL recovery last season and Brian O’Neill is back at practice as he awaits a contract extension.

The Murray and McCarthy focus means not much is being reported about the progress of the rookie class. Is first-rounder Caleb Banks on track to be a full participant in training camp? Is second-rounder Jake Golday taking reps at edge rusher as well as inside ‘backer after the trade of Jonathan Greenard? What about big DT Domonique Orange and his fellow third-rounder safety Jakobe Thomas? I’d also like to hear more about late-round speedsters Charles Demmings at corner and Demond Claiborne at running back.

Sure, there will be plenty of time in training camp to observe and digest the progress of the rookie class and other newcomers such as WR Jauan Jennings, corner James Pierre, and punter Johnny Hekker along with the progress of center Blake Brandel and monitoring the possible return of Harrison Smith.

But when there’s a new quarterback in town who was the first overall pick in 2019 (Murray) and a former first-round QB coming off an up-and-down first season as the starter (McCarthy), then it’s inevitable that the QBs will dominate the chatter in the media and among the fan base.

The Vikings’ Murray and McCarthy Battle

What can help somewhat to quiet the QB conversation is if Murray and McCarthy become more vanilla and less forthcoming in their public comments. That’s not what the media is looking for since there’s nothing better to stir things up than a quarterback controversy.

McCarthy launched the swirling quotes when he said “it’s like two guys in a classroom. He sits on one side and I sit on the other side, and it’s the coaches’ responsibility to coach us and teach us.” I didn’t think that statement was any big deal but some media folks ran with it. Since that statement, McCarthy has been saying he’s focused on what he can control, which is the best approach. I say let’s cut young J.J. some slack and not be overly analytical of every answer to a media question. He didn’t say he dislikes Murray or he’s ticked off that he has to compete for a starting job that appears to already be handed to the more veteran player in Murray.

Murray has taken the first reps in team drills lately but he and McCarthy have basically been splitting reps. For Murray’s part in the early drama, he sounded like he was making excuses for throwing a couple picks in Tuesday’s minicamp practice when he said, “me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps you would typically want a guy to get learning an offense, that’s probably the toughest part.” Then he added, “I’m not really too worried about the competition side of things, honestly.”

It’s nice for Murray that he’s so confident he’ll win the job—despite his resume that does not include any playoff wins–plus he’s already making $38 million this year (all but $1.3 million from the Cardinals who gave up on him). So splitting reps with last year’s starter should not be a shock to Murray. But does he really expect us to believe that he’s not worried about competing for the starting job when he’s on a one-year contract and is looking for a huge season to set up his next big payday as a 2027 free agent who can’t be hit with the franchise or transition tag?

Murray should just be saying he’s focused on learning the offense and getting in sync with his teammates and avoid saying anything remotely controversial about reps or his relationship with McCarthy.

Kevin O’Connell is trying to lower the temperature by saying he encourages open dialogue among his QBs and he doesn’t worry about the media characterizations of the relationship between Murray and McCarthy. O’Connell says it’s a “professional“ interaction. But I believe behind the scenes, O’Connell is telling all his QBs to avoid talking about personal relationships or numbers of reps and just say they’re all working hard along with their teammates.

So even as I’m already tired of this quarterback chatter, I just spent this week’s column further dissecting it. I’ll try to refrain from a weekly look at the Vikings QBs, at least until the pads go on in training camp and we get closer to O’Connell’s pronouncement of the Week 1 starter which should come in mid-August around the time the Ravens come to town for two days of joint practice.

Around the NFL Observations

1. Caleb Williams: I was mildly surprised to hear Williams is on the cover of this year’s Madden NFL game. Not that it’s such a big deal but it is considered by many to be an honor to be selected for the Madden cover. Recent selectees include Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Josh Allen, John Madden himself, Tom Brady, and Lamar Jackson.

After a shaky rookie season, Williams made strides in his second season of 2025 as he quarterbacked the Bears to the NFC North title with several late comebacks to his credit (including the critical Week 11 win over the Vikings). He led the Bears to a playoff victory over the Packers but then threw three interceptions in the divisional round loss to the Rams. His 90.1 passer rating ranked 22nd and he has not yet been selected to a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team.

I’d say Matthew Stafford, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, or Myles Garrett would’ve been more worthy choices based on their outstanding seasons. As a former Vikings coach once said, it’s not yet time to “crown” Caleb Williams with even something such as the Madden NFL cover. And with the Bears having the league’s toughest schedule as a first-place team compared to last year’s fourth-place schedule and losing their Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman to retirement and leading wide receiver DJ Moore in a trade, I expect it to be a difficult season for Williams and the Bears. 

2. Aaron Donald: will he and should he return to the Rams this season? After the Rams traded for Garrett, the rumblings have been that Donald, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, is thinking about a comeback and likely to do so after being retired the past two seasons. The Rams have the salary cap room to make it work as long as Donald is willing to take a lot less than the $30 million per year he made on his last deal.

Donald has reportedly stayed in shape but it’s a lot different to be in football shape and it’s questionable how effective he would be after such a long absence. But the Rams are highly motivated to be a Super Bowl team this season when the big game will be played in their home stadium and they’re not afraid to make big moves so I think it’s likely they’ll make this splashy signing and bring Donald back.

Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year … More about Jeff Diamond