Vikings' Kevin O'Connell sends early message to Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy about starting job

As had been expected for weeks, the Minnesota Vikings confirmed on Thursday that they had signed former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray to a one-year contract. 

Just about every NFL insider has expected that Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell will start Murray over 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy this coming September. O'Connell refused to reveal his plans while speaking with reporters about adding Murray to the roster. 

Is Kyler Murray or J.J. McCarthy currently atop the Vikings' depth chart?

"Unless I'm confused in any way, shape or form, I don't believe we have to name one of those currently," O'Connell said in reference to Minnesota's QB1, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. 

On Thursday morning, NFL insider Dan Graziano insisted that "the Vikings are not ready to give up on" McCarthy, who was limited to just 10 regular-season starts over his first two pro campaigns due to injury but also reportedly struggled with handling certain duties a franchise quarterback must embrace. Analysts will likely view Murray as the favorite to ultimately earn the job, but O'Connell suggested he will hold a summer competition for the gig. 

"It's March," O'Connell explained. "We signed Kyler today. And what I can tell you is the goal of adding a talented player like Kyler to the room was to ... create a world where guys are pushing each other and guys are by their own growth and development, or their own ascension, are not only just doing that themselves, but they're creating a new standard and elevating that floor so that will benefit not only those players individually, it'll benefit the collective group of guys in the room."

Kevin O'Connell wants to see how J.J. McCarthy reacts to Kyler Murray signing

On paper, Murray is an upgrade at the position for the Vikings and a much more accomplished pro. That said, his deal is worth only $1.3M because the Cardinals owed him $38M in fully guaranteed money for next season. Thus, O'Connell isn't financially married to Murray and could start McCarthy if the latter is the better player from the first day of training camp through Minnesota's final preseason game. 

"He knew we were going to be adding somebody to the room," O'Connell said about McCarthy. "He knew that that didn't change anything about his mindset and focus on improving and attacking this offseason the right way. And I'm really proud of him for that and excited to get back on the grass and in the meeting room with him when that time comes."

O'Connell seemingly wants to see how McCarthy responds to the Murray-related challenge. The answer to that question may determine if McCarthy ever takes another meaningful in-game snap as a member of the Vikings.