Wolverine Digest

JJ McCarthy 'showing out' at Vikings training camp

Chris Breiler

JJ McCarthy throws the ball at Vikings minicamp.
JJ McCarthy throws the ball at Vikings minicamp. / Minnesota Vikings
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It seemed like a foregone conclusion that veteran Sam Darnold would be the starting quarterback for the Vikings to open the season, but that belief is starting to shift. Rookie QB JJ McCarthy is reportedly catching fire during Vikings training camp, and it now sounds like there is a legitimate battle for that top spot in Minnesota.

There's no denying that McCarthy went through a bit of an adjustment period during the spring session, which is natural for a rookie QB. But McCarthy was a first-round selection for a reason, and all of those qualities that helped deliver a National Championship to Ann Arbor are now showing up in Minneapolis.

"Listen, I'm so excited about J.J. McCarthy," head caoch Kevin O'Connell said. "He's confirmed in every possible way what we had hoped and really proven in a lot of ways early on to be even more than we hoped from the standpoint of the type of person and player we brought in. That leads to the practice field where he gets to play against Brian Flores' defense every day and have a true learning environment right in front of our very eyes."

Although McCarthy's confidence seems to be growing by the day, O'Connell recently indicated that Darnold is still taking the bulk of the first-team reps.

"I'm always going to do whatever I think is best for the team to give us the best chance to win, while also understanding that the journey for a young quarterback in this league -- and I'm really talking about both Sam and J.J. McCarthy -- is really defined in a lot of ways by things outside of their control," O'Connell said. "I think we set up a plan to give both those guys a ton of reps throughout training camp. I did feel like Sam, through his work in the spring and where he's at in his career, earned the right to have the bulk of the first-team reps early on, but we've got a plan to get J.J. some reps as well."

Vikings fans have their first opportunity to see McCarthy in live game action on Aug. 10 at 4 pm, as Minnesota kicks off its preseason schedule against the Las Vegas Raiders in Minneapolis.

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Chris Breiler

CHRIS BREILER

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