McCarthy isn’t thinking about what might happen if he doesn’t get the job, and he doubled down on his desire to stay in Minnesota.
“I think I made it very clear that I wanted to be here before I got here,” McCarthy said. “I love this organization. I love the coaching staff. I absolutely love these players to death. This is where I want to be. I feel like I can thrive in this system.
McCarthy struggled with injuries and inconsistency last season after the Vikings traded up to take him with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite missing his entire rookie season with a torn right meniscus and struggling with accuracy and turnovers as a Week 1 starter a year ago, McCarthy said he wouldn’t want to go back and change his first two years in the league.
“Everything went exactly the way I wanted it to,” he said. “I wouldn’t want anything else to change.”
Early reports suggest that Murray may have a slight edge at this point, even if the race is still in full swing. Murray, for his part, said he wasn’t worried about battling McCarthy, speaking like a man who expects to win the starting job.
“Personally, I’m not too worried about the competitive side of things, to be honest,” Murray said. “To answer your question: Yes, the competitor that I am, everyone out here holds themselves to a high standard.”
We’ll likely find out in August which of the Vikings’ quarterbacks will earn the starting job. Both are confident of their potential, but only one can win it.