Jefferson is absolutely right when he identifies the quarterback position as a missing piece in Minnesota, where the Vikings managed to finish with nine wins despite almost no consistency at the position. Jefferson hasn’t shied away from that fact either, admitting that he thinks the Vikings would have been better off in 2025 had Sam Darnold stayed with the team instead of going to Seattle, acknowledging that the onus is on McCarthy to improve and handle the starting job.
Since then, Minnesota has shown it wasn’t willing to be overly patient with McCarthy, moving quickly to acquire Murray shortly after the Cardinals released the former No. 1 overall pick. It was a largely risk-free addition that offers the potential for significant upside if Murray can connect with coach Kevin O’Connell and get back into the backfield.
If Murray can pull it off, it’s safe to expect Jefferson to be pretty satisfied.
“It’s definitely something that’s … I want it, for sure,” Jefferson said of having a quarterback in Minnesota. “It’s definitely hard for things like that to happen. But just like I had with Kirk (Cousins) those first four years of my career, just building on that relationship, building on that relationship, it’s something that’s unbroken, it’s something you just don’t find anywhere.
“It’s definitely going to be great to have a quarterback, the same quarterback for the next two years down the road, but you already know that’s a tough thing to do in this league. But certainly, continuing to know that quarterback for the next few years and building that relationship and creating that spark, that’s definitely the plan.”
We’ll see if Murray can fill that role for Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings — or if McCarthy can emerge as the best candidate for the job.