Throughout last summer, there was enough concern around the Minnesota Vikings organization about J.J. McCarthy being the team's starting quarterback that some players and staffers actually viewed Max Brosmer -- an undrafted rookie -- as being better prepared to be Minnesota's Week 1 starter.
It wasn't because Brosmer was more talented. That clearly wasn't the case. It was largely due to other important parts of being an NFL starting quarterback such as managing a team, commanding the huddle and -- as one source shared with CBS Sports -- McCarthy being "unpredictable" on a daily basis in addition to the obvious on-field growing pains with the No. 10 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
"A franchise quarterback is supposed to be the stability piece of a franchise, like you know what you're getting every day," a source said. "But with J.J., you weren't sure which version you were going to get. I think he's just still so young and may not have understood yet what that position fully entails and things like the consistency and day-to-day commitment."
Now, one year later and days removed from Kyler Murray being named as the Vikings' new starting quarterback, one of the natural questions becomes: What's next for McCarthy?
The answer: Despite finishing with the second-worst quarterback rating among NFL quarterbacks with more than 155 pass attempts, there are at least some NFL coaches and front office staffers not yet ready to completely write off the former University of Michigan star, especially factoring in that he's only 23 and has been consistently set back by injuries his first two NFL seasons.
After missing his rookie year due to a knee injury, he dealt with multiple injuries last season, including a high-ankle sprain that caused him to miss five games.
"He is talented," a defensive coach said. "If he can learn how to manage a game and not do too much and not do more than what's required of him, I still think he can be a starter."
Others, however, aren't quite as optimistic
In his 10 starts last year, McCarthy finished with more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (11) and only twice posted more than 182 passing yards. During a November loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota had eight false-start penalties. That's tied for the second-most false starts by a home team in a single game since 2000.
"Just looked last year like a young player who was still trying to find his confidence," an NFL front office official said. "His accuracy was a little bit inconsistent. Was more of in a developmental state of how he played. Took a lot of sacks too. You saw the frame, the athlete and a good throwing motion, but it was just more like he probably needed more time on task."
Naturally, some NFL teams have studied and gathered feedback on McCarthy in recent months in case he becomes available at some point, especially with many in league circles expecting since Murray signed with the Vikings in March for the 2019 No. 1 overall pick to end up winning Minnesota's starting quarterback job.
The takeaways for some of those teams is that McCarthy may be more likely to end up as a Zach Wilson or Trey Lance -- early first-round picks who have become backup players -- than he is to become a Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield -- early first-round picks who are now thriving with new teams after overcoming struggles earlier in their careers.
"He's probably a little bit distinguishable from like a Darnold or from a Baker in that those guys, to me, prior to like wandering in the wilderness, had shown more," an NFL front office official said. "They had had stretches that looked at a level that probably made you a little bit more comfortable betting on this being an outcome down the road.
"The other difference maybe between J.J. and those guys -- Darnold in New York and Carolina, Baker in Cleveland or a Geno Smith in New York -- is the context of those situations I think would be viewed as unfavorable -- bad teams, bad offenses, etc. I don't think people viewed Minnesota going into last year as that because they had won 14 games, they had Justin Jefferson and (other talent on offense), one of the better play-callers in the league and a pretty solid O-line. So, though the league is not saying that J.J. has declared himself definitively one way or the other, there are fewer threads to sort of explain away his struggles than maybe those other guys present."
It's not all doom and gloom for McCarthy
Still, NFL teams are reluctant to give up on a player who won't turn 24 until January and who has clear physical talent.
It's part of why front office sources have shared a consistent belief in recent days that they could see McCarthy getting another opportunity to start in Minnesota or that he'll at the very least get an opportunity to compete for a starting job elsewhere at some point.
Also, while there are concerns about the non-physical traits with McCarthy that go back to the draft process, another source did bring up Mayfield and note that he's grown up significantly as a person and professional since his time with the Browns, which has contributed to his success with the Buccaneers the last three seasons.
For McCarthy, it will come down to his own continued overall growth.
Although there were periodic standout moments from him this offseason and during the early part of training camp, continued inconsistency contributed to head coach Kevin O'Connell officially naming Murray as the Vikings' new starting QB, before Minnesota even played its first preseason game.
Now, beyond McCarthy being relegated to becoming Murray's backup for at least the short term, the next phase for him will be whether he can bounce back, continue to improve across the board and earn another opportunity to be an NFL starter, whether that's with the Vikings or elsewhere.
"When you turn on the film, you see why he was drafted (so early)," a front office official said. "The packaging and the physical ability is starting caliber. He's athletic. He's mobile. He's got a strong arm. He can complete passes at multiple levels of the field. But there's probably some underlying causes and a variety of factors that have contributed to his inconsistent playing performance. So can he improve and mature? We'll see."
