Will Vikings have J.J. McCarthy compete for starting job this summer?

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy raised eyebrows when he said during an interview that aired on Tuesday that he hasn’t been “told” he’ll enter training camp as the Minnesota Vikings starter, even though the club let both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave via free agency earlier in March.

For an article published on Tuesday afternoon, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated suggested McCarthy won’t be given the QB1 job anytime soon after he spent his entire rookie season recovering from a full meniscus repair.

“They made substantial offers to Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones to come back,” Breer wrote of the Vikings’ handling of their quarterback situation. “They obviously wanted to generate a situation where McCarthy had to earn it after losing a regular season’s worth of on-field development. So to just hand him the job now, by default, could be read by McCarthy’s teammates a ton of different ways. I still believe McCarthy will be the Vikings starter. Having him earn it isn’t a terrible thing.”

The Vikings seemingly had no interest in matching the three-year, $100.5M contract that Darnold received from the Seattle Seahawks. Meanwhile, Jones inked a one-year, $14M deal worth up to $17.7M with $13.15M guaranteed to compete with Anthony Richardson for the Indianapolis Colts’ starting job.

Also on Tuesday, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted that sources said the Vikings are “leaving open the possibility of revisiting” signing Aaron Rodgers if the future Hall of Famer remains available through the end of mandatory minicamp practices. It seems unlikely McCarthy would be allowed to “earn” the starting job over Rodgers, as signing the 41-year-old would be a win-now move for a team that went 14-3 with Darnold in the lineup. 

Perhaps Minnesota could target Russell Wilson if he doesn’t sign with either the New York Giants or the Cleveland Browns this spring. Wilson (allegedly) competed with Justin Fields to be the Pittsburgh Steelers starter last summer but likely wouldn’t be promised the Minnesota gig as would Rodgers. 

According to Seifert, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will speak with local reporters on Wednesday. It remains to be seen if Adofo-Mensah will offer any clarity regarding what will be expected of McCarthy from the first day of springtime workouts through Minnesota’s last mandatory minicamp session.