The Vikings' offseason quarterback competition is over, and it didn't go the way Minnesota fans hoped. Head coach Kevin O'Connell named Kyler Murray the starting quarterback for 2026, ending a training camp battle with JJ McCarthy that had been simmering since Murray signed a 1-year deal in March after getting released by Arizona.
McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, never really got a fair runway. A knee injury wiped out his entire rookie season, and he made just 10 starts across his first two years in the league. O'Connell insisted the demotion doesn't change McCarthy's standing in the building, but the reporting is blunt about the stakes — it's reportedly not out of the question McCarthy is off the roster entirely before Week 1 if things go sideways in camp.
That's the backdrop for Dave Portnoy going on Wake Up Barstool and pushing back on the doom-and-gloom. He's not hedging, either — the Barstool feed clipped him predicting real staying power for the 23-year-old, even in a backup role right now.
Dave Portnoy tells the Wake Up Barstool crew he thinks McCarthy will win playoff games in this league.
Portnoy's take isn't just that McCarthy sticks around Minnesota as insurance. He's betting McCarthy gets another shot to start somewhere, full stop — a notable vote of confidence for a guy who's thrown more picks than touchdowns as a pro so far.
Portnoy reacts to the Murray news and lays out why he thinks McCarthy lands another starting job in the NFL down the road.
It's a fair debate. McCarthy was the highest-drafted quarterback in Vikings history and remains under team control through 2028, so Minnesota isn't walking away from that investment over one lost camp battle. But Murray brings a two-time Pro Bowl resume and the kind of dual-threat ceiling that made him worth the gamble for O'Connell, even with the injury history that's limited him to a full healthy season only once in the last five years.
Portnoy doubled down on the show, going as far as to say fans should mark the prediction down now — McCarthy wins playoff games in this league, backup job or not.
Portnoy repeats and emphasizes the McCarthy prediction, telling viewers to remember he called it.
For now, McCarthy's job is holding a clipboard and staying ready. Whether that's a pit stop before a real opportunity or the start of a bust narrative depends on how Murray's health and Minnesota's season actually play out — but Portnoy's already staked his claim on how this ends.