Just weeks before the Minnesota Vikings begin training camp, the quarterback situation remains unsettled. Both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy are expected to compete for the starting role, and former Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress offered up his thoughts on the pair.
Childress captained the Vikings from 2006-2010, and navigated an interesting quarterback dynamic of his own by bringing in Brett Favre late in his career. He dove into what both Murray and McCarthy need to show to win the job on the Star Tribune’s Daily Delivery podcast.
“He was a little frenetic last year, and when that’s your default, you get out of there before you have to get out of there,” Childress said of McCarthy. “You’d like a guy to be able to play from the pocket…I wouldn’t say there’s smoke coming out of his ears, but when you have to remember the shift, the motion, what the snap count is, you have a lot of things to think about.”
As for Murray, he hopes that, like McCarthy, he’s able to sit back and make the throws Kevin O’Connell’s scheme requires.
“He’s got a live arm, but he also has wheels. He can beat you with his legs,” Childress said of Murray. “I think the biggest question for both of those guys will be, ‘Can you stand in the pocket and look at it, and, are you able to be an anticipatory thrower?’ You can’t wait till you see the whites of a guy’s eyes. A lot of times you’ve got to anticipate and stick it in a spot over a linebacker in front of a defensive back and let him run into that throw.”
Brad Childress Spoke on the Vikings’ Delicate Quarterback Room
Much like with Favre in 2009, the Vikings are once again trying to get creative in order to find some stability at quarterback. Childress noted that having a veteran is a key factor, as long as adding one to the room doesn’t create any riffs.
“You can’t underestimate that from a leadership standpoint,” Childress said. “I know Carson Wentz is in that room. He’s been in a number of different systems. It just depends on how giving everybody is. You hope there’s a camaraderie in the room and that there’s not a divide.”
While it’s been apparent that neither Murray or McCarthy are especially thrilled to be forced to compete, there hasn’t been any news that the room is divided. Still, Wentz may be the calming presence for a duo that won’t be best friends as the battle progresses.
The Vikings Are Hoping to See Big Progress from Rookie Caleb Banks
While quarterback remains something to watch at camp, the Vikings will also be watching first-round draft pick Caleb Banks, who is hoping to be healthy enough to begin practicing. Banks hasn’t participated since breaking his foot at the NFL combine, but the Vikings are expecting big things from the rookie.
“Internally, the Vikings believe first-round pick Caleb Banks should win a starting defensive end job if his broken left foot is fully healed,” wrote ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “Third-round selection Domonique Orange is also expected to challenge Levi Drake Rodriguez at nose tackle.”
If Banks is unable to practice, however, alarm bells will certainly start to ring in Minnesota.
Former Vikings Coach Brad Childress Dishes on the Complicated QB Battle