What is McCarthy's future with the Vikings?
Mike Florio and Chris Simms react to Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley's comments on J.J. McCarthy and question the future of the former first-round pick in Minnesota.
Video Transcript
Pft Live, Thursday, September 3rd.
The Vikings have decided to make Kyler Murray the starting quarterback.
Nolan Teasley, who was hired to be the GM, and who has no fingerprints whatsoever on really either of the two quarterbacks.
He arrived after the draft.
They hired him.
They started the search after the draft.
They went into the draft and free agency without a GM.
Teasley addressed the media yesterday, and he addressed, among other things I was trying to think of a, another word other than addressed.
Oh, I thought you were- I was gonna say addressed- burping or something twice.
No I was Addressed.
He addressed.
He addressed J.J. McCarthy's status on the team.
Here he is.
J.J. McCarthy's role is to continue to develop, to improve, and to support his teammates, and he's done an excellent job of that from the, the moment that I've, that I've been here, and from my understanding, since he walked through the door.
Do you expect him to be on the roster for week one?
I do.
Is he the backup quarterback?
I wouldn't really necessarily comment on, on depth immediately, but, yeah, I'm just I'm, I'm pleased that he's, he's part of our present version of the Minnesota Vikings, and excited about his future.
Yeah, if you don't comment on J.J. McCarthy being the backup for the Vikings- Then he's not- I mean, he's not the backup It's Carson Wentz.
Yeah.
It's Carson Wentz.
I, that, that's where I wanna just go why, why do we even play with that at times?
Like, obviously we're gonna read into that and go, "Well, he's not the backup then."
'Cause if he was, you would've gone, "Hey, he's the backup."
Yeah.
Like, just say it.
Why are you asking the question?
Just say- Yeah go, "Hey, you know what?
Right now Carson Wentz is number two."
th- that's it.
I don't know what they think is gonna hurt it, right?
It's almost like sometimes they're afraid to say, "Oh, Carson Wentz is number two," and they feel like teams are gonna be like, "Oh, we can't trade for J.J. McCarthy now if he's number three.
Cross it off.
Forget it.
It's all over."
I mean, we're all presuming that Carson Wentz is the backup right now, right?
I mean, the I look at our lads.
Our lads has him as backup.
We always check that out.
Yeah.
Other websites all have Carson Wentz as the backup.
In an effort to conjure leverage for a trade, sometimes you end up hurting yourself.
Yeah.
You're trying too hard.
Yeah.
Just acknowledge it for what it is- Yeah do the best possible deal, and move on.
You're not gonna get a better draft pick for J.J. McCarthy by creating the vague, amorphous notion that maybe he's number two.
Yeah, yeah.
He's not.
He doesn't fit there.
They'd like to move on.
I think if they would get a trade offer they would like, they would take it, and they just haven't gotten one because teams are thinking that they're eventually just gonna move on from him, and it may be that they just keep him around.
Because the other reality is they could need him.
There's no guarantee that Kyler Murray- Or Carson Wentz and Carson Wentz- Yes are both gonna stay healthy.
Totally.
I, I, I agree with that.
I mean, they Yes.
Kyler Murray, we know, he has had a little bit of the injury bug.
He's a smaller guy.
He, he's, runs around and does that.
Carson Wentz always puts himself in danger 'cause of the way he plays, hanging in the pocket and holding the ball to the last second.
So you're exactly right.
Stay the course, J.J. As we kinda talked about with, like, Anthony Richardson and the Colts a few weeks ago, you're at the best spot right now.
You were drafted in the top 12 by this football team.
They still have some, you know, vested interest in wanting to make it work for you, for all the reasons you said, and for themselves.
So if you get in there, just make sure you're ready to go.
Because you will have a support system around you if they all stay healthy, and what we think they can be on the offensive side of the ball.
Well, you, you could have another chance here to show everybody and say, "Shove it up where the sun don't shine."
So just continue to stay the course is the, is the, the message to J.J. McCarthy.
You said top 12, which makes me think you think he was the 12th pick.
No, he was 11, right?
It's 10.
It was 10.
Okay.
They were 11, and they bumped up on him.
Okay.
I, I always get that mixed up in my head.
They were afraid they were gonna get jumped by the Broncos and Sean Payton.
Yes.
And of course, Payton believes he put the Jedi mind trick on the Vikings- Totally did making them think he wanted McCarthy when he actually wanted Bo Nix.
Gosh, I just, I can't believe they fell for that.
We knew.
You heard me at the combine that year going, "Payton, Sean Payton and the Broncos are gonna take Bo Nix," right?
Remember I said that to you?
I just said, "I just watched the film the night before."
I go, "He's gonna love Bo Nix.
It's, it's like a Drew Brees."
I mean, I think most of the football thought he loved it.
So I, I'm surprised that Minnesota got, you know, fooled on the old okie doke there.
Here's Teasley on McCarthy's future with the Minnesota Vikings.
And he's r- really talented.
I think I said that from the, from the jump, right?
He was, he was picked in, in the first round for a reason, a really good arm strength, a underrated athlete, and looking forward to how he continues to, to develop in the system.
I think that the thing you need to keep in mind with J.J. Is that, he plays he has the hardest job in sport, okay?
He's only started 10 games, and, his story's not written.
And that's all true, and that's all accurate.
And it's unfortunate because this is the way that it works.
You're a highly drafted player at the most important and most scrutinized position in all of football, if not all of sports, and you either sink or swim.
And if you start sinking- Yeah the rock gets heavier.
That's the problem.
That is.
And it just, it just kinda spirals outta control- Yeah and before you know it, it's done.
You're right.
It, it, it's, it's unfortunate.
It's, it's about as bad as a scenario as you could hope for for being a top 10 pick.
You, you've talked in past about Trey Lance and the situation he got put in, and that was so tough.
This is not too far from that.
You get hurt your rookie preseason, you can't play, and a guy like A- and it was already controversial that, hey, we're getting rid of Kirk Cousins, who played really good football here, and really was a pretty good, you know, consistent staple of our offense, and we're just gonna get rid of him?
And then, okay, we get rid of him for J.J. McCarthy, and people questioned, you know, how much he was ready to carry the burden because of the way they played at Michigan, and running the ball so much.
Like, we've talked about running the ball the whole second half of a game against Penn State and everything there.
And then you get hurt your rookie preseason, and then the backup comes in and takes over, and they go 14 and 3.
I That, that couldn't be any worse.
And then of course we know now you don't get the reps there, and then it goes into the second year where, yeah, you were getting healthy.
There were some other things maybe off the field, and you're trying to get your, you know, bearings straight as being a starting quarterback in the NFL, and then get hurt again.
And of course in that process, it was kind of bumpy road.
And then you get back in there and do some good things, but again, it was bumpy and inconsistent.
It's just, it's been a tough situation where he's gotten a little unlucky, and then when he has been out there, he has not showed the growth that you would like.
That's the biggest thing.
Well, and he started last year, too, with that thrilling come-from-behind win at Soldier Field against the Bears.
He grew up a Bears fan, and it looked like it was all moving in the right direction, but by week two, primetime game, Falcons, Vikings, that's where he got injured.
Yep.
And then after that And he did come on.
He did win games late in the year, but- The bottom line is this: the durability is the biggest problem.
Totally.
Are there accuracy issues?
Yes.
Are there issues with having only one pitch- Yeah in the- You're right tool bag?
Yes.
But the durability is the key.
You can't work on those things if you're not out there doing it, right?
Like, to your point.
Du- durability is the thing.
And then there's just, like, this weird, like, he's gonna practice this week, and Schefty was just on McAfee the other day saying it's a multi-week injury, and there's this push and pull of the team and the player aren't on the same page about his health.
The whole thing is just weird.
I think it's gone low-key toxic.
Everybody still says all the right things, but I think it's probably time to move on if they can.
I like how they put that helmet up there for you.
Yeah, I don't like that helmet.
I don't like that helmet.
I wanna go back to the days of the glossy, shiny- Like I was saying the other day.
Yes.
Yeah.
The glossy, shiny purple with the old horn.
And it's funny, and I may partially be responsible for this, because I remember interviewing Matt Birk before they changed the uniforms in 2006, and I said, "Why don't they make the horn three-dimensional so people know what it is?"
And they did.
I like it better the old way, when people were like, "What is that thing on the side of the helmet?"
Yeah.
'Cause that was a lot of, like, what the hell is that thing?
I, I wondered when I was young.
Right?
Yeah.
I remember going, "What the hell is..." I, I had no idea.
I've also suggested, let's go full 3D and let's just put horns sticking out of the helmet.
Yeah, that would be good.
That would, that would make for an interesting- That'd be good for the s- the safety rules, yeah.
That would- Well, again, yeah, you know what I mean?
You Last week you wanted- week 14 naked.
Naked.
The, I mean, sure, I did.
That'll spread the global.
You're like, "Hey- I- you might as well go naked."
And I mean, that'll catch fire.
I said the rivalry uniforms are a naked money grab, and the players would look better- Naked naked.
Yes.
And you went with the whole, "Hey, week 14, they're all gonna be naked."
Hey, they wanna grow, they wanna grow this thing in the world.
That'll grow that thing in the, in the big time.
I mean, naked- The original- with the horns sticking out?
The original- That would be incredible Olympics.
The original Greek Olympics.
Look it up.
Were, were naked?
They were, they were- Wow.
No sponsorships.
So there was no penalties for illegal man junk dangling or anything like that in those.
No, that- was just par for the course.
All right.
