Unfortunately, It’s Time… The Hard Truth Needs to Be Said About J.J. McCarthy

It is time to face the harsh reality that J.J. McCarthy is not a franchise quarterback, and his most ardent supporters are officially holding onto a thread that has completely unraveled.

The J.J. McCarthy train has officially run out of track.

You can appreciate his heart and his occasional flashes of brilliance, but a franchise quarterback cannot be built on “just a couple” of good throws.

Following the Minnesota Vikings’ 13-3 preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the “J.J. McCarthy Truthers” have officially run out of ammunition—and track. The narrative that a lack of weapons, poor coaching, or bad luck is holding him back has been entirely exposed.

We are still seeing the exact same mechanical flaws and inconsistent vision that have plagued his young career.

The Human Toll of Expectation

It is impossible not to feel a shred of empathy for McCarthy on a purely human level.

Entering the NFL as the 10th overall pick carries immense psychological pressure, and McCarthy clearly wants to be the savior fans envisioned. Watching him bury his helmet in his hands after sailing a touchdown pass in the first quarter reveals a young athlete battling his own head.

He is a tough kid who tries to execute, but he is constantly fighting his own mechanics while taking hard, unnecessary hits. His afternoon ended early, walking gingerly off the field with yet another “banged up” designation.

None of that is easy to watch.

But at some point, the conversation has to move beyond sympathy and toward production.

The “Just a Couple” Passing Reality

For two years, the excuses for McCarthy have been loud, but the Ravens game left his defenders with an empty gun.

The truthers will inevitably point to a single play to keep their hope alive.

During the first quarter, McCarthy made a beautiful 50-yard completion to Tai Felton. But in the NFL, those moments can be a trap. Immediately after the 50-yard bomb, McCarthy threw two overly hard, uncatchable balls into the end zone.

On fourth-and-1, he completely sailed a pass over a wide-open Myles Price in the front corner of the end zone.

He finished the day 5-of-10 for 81 yards.

Take away the single 50-yard toss, and he managed just 31 yards on his other nine dropbacks.

That is the core problem.

When fans talk about McCarthy, they point to a single beautiful deep ball or a tight-window throw. He looks great on one or two plays, then disappears for the rest of the quarter. He routinely misfires on easy completions and open targets.

Across his 10 starts for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, he averaged only 163.2 passing yards per game with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

That is not franchise quarterback play. Those are average backup numbers.

Average backup quarterbacks can look like capable starters for a single play or two.

Always Someone Else’s Fault

Every time McCarthy struggles, supporters point a finger at anything except the quarterback.

Some claim bad luck or drops ruined his stats. Others blame the offensive line for every missed read and awkward sack.

But eventually, the quarterback has to own some of the situation.

Consider these numbers:

• J.J. McCarthy: 54.5% passes under pressure, 3.1-second average time to throw
• Carson Wentz: 46.2% passes under pressure, 2.5-second average time to throw
• Max Brosmer: 20% passes under pressure, 2.3-second average time to throw

To me, this is telling. McCarthy appears to be having trouble processing the defense and allowing pressure to get to him.

If his average time to throw were to drop below 2.5 seconds, that pressure rate could drop as well because he would be getting the ball out faster and processing the play more quickly.

The reality is that good quarterbacks elevate bad situations.

McCarthy sinks right down into them.

The Train Has Run Out of Track

The hype train has run out of track, and the ammunition to fight for the “kid” is no longer there.

As a Vikings fan, I wanted McCarthy to be “the guy.”

I really did.

I think it is time to step off that train and leave the gun on it.

It was exciting having a little bit of hope that the Vikings had finally solved their quarterback problem. That hope has run out. It is time to move on.

McCarthy can give you a great throw here and there, but in the NFL, a couple of good passes per game are not enough to win.

So, What Do the Vikings Do Now?

The issue now is what to do with the young quarterback.

Trading him—or even cutting him—would make the Sam Darnold decision in free agency look a thousand times worse.

The front office told themselves, just like the McCarthy Truthers did, that the young quarterback could take over for a 14-win Sam Darnold.

The reality hit hard and fast.

The Vikings essentially traded out a 14-win quarterback and Super Bowl champion for a kid who is arguably now the third-string quarterback.

Let that sink in for a bit.

Now, all we can do is hope Kyler Murray can bring us anything close to what Sam Darnold did in 2024.

And if he does, do not make the same mistake and let him walk.

Nolan Teasley knows firsthand about the mistake the Vikings made letting Sam Darnold walk because Darnold won Nolan Teasley a Super Bowl. That mistake probably does not happen again with Teasley now in Minnesota as the general manager.

So here we are.

Let’s hope Kyler Murray can mirror what Sam Darnold did for us in 2024—and maybe take it one step further.

Let’s add a playoff win on top of it.

Maybe more.

Let’s SKOL to a successful 2026-27 football season.

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