McCarthy must ‘rebuild his reputation’ as backup

Mike Florio and Chris Simms analyze J.J. McCarthy's future and explain how the young quarterback must prove his attitude is in the right place as Kyler Murray's backup.

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Well, the head coach of the Chargers in the AFC West is Jim Harbaugh.

He has raved in the past about J.J. McCarthy, who helped Harbaugh win a national championship at Michigan before Harbaugh did the Indiana Jones under the falling stone door slide to get out of Ann Arbor before the crap hit the fan there.

But he was responsible, I firmly believe, for putting J.J. McCarthy on a lot of people's radar screens in the run-up to the 2025 draft.

Even though it was so obvious why he was publicly kissing this guy's ass, it still seemed to elevate the perception of J.J. McCarthy.

Yes.

And I mention that because now we wonder what J.J. McCarthy is going to do next, or what he's going to want to do next.

Before we unpack that item, here's Kevin O'Connell from yesterday on J.J. McCarthy now that he won't be the starter for 2026.

He's a young player, with, you know, a, a whole bunch of outstanding things in his future.

I tr- I genuinely believe, that, J.J.'s gonna, you know, work as hard as ever just because, you know, the, the immediate temporary result wasn't exactly what he's wanted.

I know he's gonna be ready to go.

I know he's gonna continue to improve.

And the long-term mindset of, of him as a, you know, a Minnesota Viking and, and all the things that he's brought here is still absolutely, part of the long-term vision, for sure.

Kind of hard to have a long-term vision when a guy's only under contract for two more years.

I don't know what long-term means, because obviously if this goes well with Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy will never be the starting quarterback for the Vikings again unless Murray gets injured.

Yeah.

Period.

Yeah.

And as I was starting to say earlier, and I didn't want to take away from the focus on, on Kyler Murray winning the job.

Last year I talked to enough people when there was this weird vibe coming out of Minnesota as to nobody seemed to know what they were going to do, and nobody who was dealing with the Vikings seemed to know who was calling the shots- Yeah on what they were doing at quarterback.

They get to the playoffs with Sam Darnold.

They looked horrible against the Rams in the wild card game.

That was a total team failure.

They had the number one seed in their grasp.

Darnold was airmailing potential touchdown passes in the red zone into the fifth row at Ford Field.

And I think they just decided, "Hey, we can't count on Sam Darnold to make the big throw in the big spot.

We gotta make a decision here.

We're gonna trust our evaluation of J.J. McCarthy from the 2024 draft.

We're gonna trust that, and we are going to see what he can be."

And that made sense.

Let's see what he can be.

But just during that period where it seemed kind of awkward and uncertain and who is gonna be there, is it gonna be Darnold, is it gonna be Jones to go along with J.J. McCarthy.

Yeah.

I just got the sense that if McCarthy was anything other than the unquestioned number one quarterback, he was going to be pissed and he was going to want out.

Now, that wasn't directly from him, but you know, I got that impression.

Honestly and truthfully got that impression.

And that's all relevant now because, Chris, as soon as the word got out, as soon as it was known that McCarthy wasn't the starter, that's when your guy Shefty, Michigan man- Yeah supporting his guy J.J., that's when he starts rattling the cage.

And he got dragged for this, and he And look, there are times where your, your conflicts of interest, if you don't acknowledge them, if you don't tap out of that story and delegate it to someone else, people are going to notice.

I give the audience credit.

I give the other people out there, the people who cover the media credit for realizing finally that insiders have many conflicts, and sometimes they just lean right into them.

And he leaned all the way into it yesterday, and he was full-blown Michigan man carrying the water for J.J. McCarthy.

McCarthy now forced to the bench.

There were all little signs like that, things said on But, and look, it's, eh, you just gotta be, you gotta be smart about this stuff.

You can't When it's obvious like this, you can't make it even more obvious.

But I think it all flows from what he's hearing, that McCarthy's pissed, that McCarthy can still play, and that McCarthy is gonna wanna go somewhere that he has a chance to play sooner than later.

I think he felt emboldened to go as hard as he did because he's hearing it even more loudly than he was saying it.

Yeah.

Well, I'm sure McCarthy is pissed.

And sorry, London, and sorry, Edinburgh, and everywhere else, right?

I mean, yeah, I'm sure.

There's no question.

I mean, it seems like he's been bothered really since OTAs.

I mean, we've talked about that.

And I'm sure he could sense the things you said about, that, you know, Kyler Murray was kind of the de facto leader all the time.

And I'm sure he could sense in certain meetings the way Kyler Murray was talked to.

He was kind of like, "Damn, I f- I feel like they're kind of expecting him to be the starter."

You sense those things.

You're n- he's not an idiot.

You know, he knows how to read people.

He's been around the block before.

So I, I'm sure he's bothered.

But within all that, you know, I still think he's at the right spot here.

First off, it's Kyler Murray.

He's very small.

He's been injured.

You might be the starting quarterback early on in the season.

Hang in there.

All right?

That's the big thing.

Second thing is, I mean, where, where are you gonna go right now and force yourself out right now anyways?

You force yourself out right now, hey, his perception is not the greatest around the league.

Right?

So it's not like people are gonna be like, "Oh my gosh, we gotta have J.J. McCarthy in here to be the backup right now, right now, and he might be the starter next year for us."

Nah, it, it's No, I think this is like, stay there, stay the course, be a good teammate.

You know?

There's been too many things out there.

Yeah, you got injured your first year, you know?

And then after that year, it was like, whoa, wait, are y- how skinny are you?

So there was a lot of things there, and rumors going around the league there with, "Why is he so skinny?

What's going on?"

They flirted with Aaron Rodgers for, for a reason.

So there was lots of things there.

He hasn't set himself up to make teams feel warm and cozy about him to be the future plan yet.

Plus, there was teams already, to your point with the Jim Harbaugh, that didn't love him in the draft anyways.

They weren't sure of all the things that were said.

Hey, he barely how to throw it.

Hey, there's not a lot of variety of throws.

Hey, Michigan was awesome at running the ball, so people were open down the field.

So, so I think you stay here.

Almost like, yeah, you're not leaving your team, but like a Sam Darnold or, or, you know, anybody else that's been with a quarterback whisperer type of coach, I think it helps to be there.

Know the league knows, hey, wait, that coach likes him.

They still believe in him.

And I think there's value in that.

So that's to me where I would tell him, hang in there, be the good soldier, and just continue to work at your craft, and just make sure that when you get your opportunity, you're ready to go, and you can prove all these people wrong.

But I don't think people are gonna be knocking down the door asking for J.J. McCarthy right now.

And he may not be able to do that.

That's the thing.

A lot of times, someone gives us good advice, and we know it's good advice- Yeah but at the end of the day, we are incapable of acting on that advice because we're pissed off.

Sorry, London, and Edinburgh, and Dunmurry- the location of the DeLorean factory, something we learned last week.

That's right.

I, I don't think that was one of your days.

No, it was not me.

Was that your day?

No, it was not.

It was not.

Okay.

So, so, I think that there's something there, and he may decide that he's got a stick where sticks aren't supposed to be inserted- and the Vikings may have to come to the conclusion that it's counterproductive to have him around.

And this gets back to some of the stuff that Schefter was saying.

Is he the next quarterback who, like Sam Darnold, like Daniel Jones, needs a fresh start?

I mean, the problem is the other guys that have been part of this narrative of having a great second act, first of all, they started with chronically dysfunctional teams- That's exactly right that didn't know how to coach quarterbacks.

Yes, yes.

Second of all, they had more than enough of a chance to not play well, and it was clear that it was the people around them that were the problem, not them.

And third, there's just never been this sense that J.J. McCarthy has high-end skills that haven't been fully tapped.

That hasn't been part of it.

So I think that's a forced narrative.

And but it at the heart of it is this idea that, you know, he wants to go get his, his second opportunity somewhere else.

But as you said, who's gonna give it to him?

At best, they sit back and wait for someone to get injured.

At best, they hope the phone's gonna ring.

If someone gets injured in the preseason, if there's a fluke Teddy Bridgewater-style torn ACL 10 years after that happened in late August at a normal practice, I think, like the Deshaun Watson injury, I think Teddy Bridgewater mostly tore the ACL in the prior preseason game against the Chargers when they had their first game at their new stadium, and then it just went during practice.

But regardless, do you wait for that?

Do you wait for the regular season?

Do you hold him all the way until week nine?

That's the key.

And I just don't think he's gonna be happy.

I think it's gonna be awkward.

He's not gonna know his place.

We talked about this yesterday.

What kind of backup do you want?

I think The way Kevin O'Connell explained it to us in Arizona, they're gonna name a starter and he's the guy, period.

Everybody else falls in line in the depth chart.

Yeah.

I don't think J.J. McCarthy's gonna willingly fall in line.

No.

So if he can't, if he can't process this and behave accordingly, I don't know what they do.

Yeah.

They owe him 2.7 million this year, fully guaranteed, 3.7 million next year, fully guaranteed.

You know, it's an attractive contract to trade if there's someone who would want him.

But I'm with you.

Right now, who wants him?

Yeah, yeah.

Just rebuild your reputation.

That's what it is.

You know?

I, I, I'm sure he, his agent are mad, and maybe his agent's the one talking to Schefter and saying a few things behind the scenes, trying to sound tough and aggressive.

But I, I, I think it's, it's be the good soldier, okay?

You went to Michigan.

You're a Michigan man.

Be the good teammate.

Do that.

Kick some ass in the preseason.

Show people that you've made progress.

Nobody's gonna bring you at this point, and if you just stay as the backup, like, to be a starter next year.

So right now, it's about just improving your craft.

Maybe you get a chance during the regular season because of an injury.

Be ready to go.

But show what you got in the preseason.

Maybe you get in some end of some football games and you guys are blowing somebody out or getting blown out.

You get to do that.

Put your best foot forward there to hopefully you can Even if s- so maybe you wanna go after the year, you can go somewhere to go and go, "Hey, I'm gonna go somewhere else.

I'm gonna go be a backup maybe somewhere where I feel like there's a chance I could be a starter in a hurry."

But, but I still think he's at the spot here right now.

You just stay the course.

You stay with Minnesota this year, and you show people you've gotten better at football, the variety of throws, all of that, and you build on that.

I think that's the approach for J.J. McCarthy.

And you make a decision that is strategic and calculated to provide an opportunity in 2027.

Where are there places- Exactly you could go now?

Exactly.

Places who may not have a high-end backup, and you could go there for two years- Be the backup now, but possibly be the successor if the starter isn't there next year.

A team like the Jets, a team like the Buccaneers, a team like the Steelers.

Not that they're in need of quarterbacks right now.

That, that would not be They would have to They would have five if they did that.

But I'm just pointing out there are spots where we know or we should suspect that next year's starting quarterback is currently not on the roster.

Hell, Arizona would be a possibility, although Carson Beck looked pretty damn good last Thursday night- Sure against the- But no, I hear you you know, the- It's those places C team of the Carolina Panthers.

Right.

But, you know, it's those places where we, we look at the, we look at the roster and we say we aren't certain.

And if anything, we are certain that it's going to not be the guy that's currently there.

Those are the potential candidates, unless there's some serious injury that happens during the regular season, which opens the door for the Vikings to trade J.J. McCarthy.

But, you know, we see more and more, unless it's a great quarterback, the team's gonna go next man up.

They're gonna go with next man up.

Yeah.

If, you know, and a lot of the, like, y- th- I don't wanna put the Malocchio on anyone by naming names, but most of these places, they're gonna go next man up because next man up already knows the players, the coaches, the system, the terminology, everything.

Yeah.

They're not gonna have to move heaven and earth to get this guy ready.

Yeah, the teams are set.

They're, they're, they're set that way.

So yeah, it's about positioning yourself.

The, the, that's, that's what you're talking about.

And I, I don't know, may- maybe it is just do your best this year, and then you go to the Chargers after the year.

And yeah, now you have a coach that props you up, and you learn behind Justin Herbert.

And hey, Herbert's been a guy that's gotten hurt a few times.

Maybe you get your opportunity there to then go, "Hey, here I am."

But it, this may be something like that.

But regardless, the first thing he has to do is worry about the Giants on Saturday.

Everybody's gonna be looking for his attitude, how he handles the situation.

Is he gonna be pouting?

Is he gonna be off his game 'cause he's mad he's not the starter?

No, I hope he takes the approach of like, "Hey, F you.

Watch how, watch how m- much better I've gotten.

And yeah, Kyler Murray's the starter, but you could see I still got potential."

And I think that'll go a long way for, for everybody watching, a- and especially J.J. And if you play and it goes well, don't overdo it.

Don't act like you're sticking it in people's faces.

You're in the spot you're in because you had the opportunity last year, and you didn't, you didn't deliver on it, period.

You didn't stay on the field, and when you were on the field, that fastball only arsenal was not getting it done.

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