{"id":350812,"date":"2026-09-19T02:20:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T02:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/350812\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T02:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T02:20:23","slug":"jj-mccarthys-immaturity-problem-has-stunned-vikings-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/350812\/","title":{"rendered":"JJ McCarthy’s ‘immaturity’ problem has stunned Vikings staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell led the organization\u2019s decision this offseason to pursue quarterback Kyler Murray after he and his staff could not solve J.J. McCarthy\u2019s accuracy issues and develop him to be difference-maker, according to ESPN<\/a>, which cited team and league sources.<\/p>\n

One thing that stood out in the lengthy article was McCarthy\u2019s reported immaturity \u2014 and one instance that \u201cdid not sit well internally\u201d when the 2024 first-round pick celebrated a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys 5 yards before he crossed the line of scrimmage during a December clash, despite being told not to in practice. <\/p>\n

At the time, McCarthy admitted he was warned not to repeat the celebration during a game. <\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) makes a pass during warmups before a game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

\u201cI did it in practice, and I was told not to do it,\u201d McCarthy said after he threw for a career-high 250 yards in Minnesota\u2019s 34-26 win over Dallas. \u201cSo, just me being who I am, it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, now I\u2019m more enticed to do it.’\u201d <\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell also made it clear at the time that he wasn\u2019t happy about McCarthy\u2019s celebration.<\/a><\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell responds to a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Minneapolis, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. AP Photo\/Abbie Parr<\/p>\n

McCarthy\u2019s maturity level along with his decision-making and lack of quickness in the pocket seemingly played a factor in the Vikings choosing to sign Murray to a one-year deal in March after he was released by the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

The Vikings demoted McCarthy to third-string QB four days before they opened the 2026 season against the Packers.<\/p>\n

Murray won the starting job, with veteran Carson Wentz as the backup.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray drops back to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. AP Photo\/Abbie Parr<\/p>\n

Murray went down with a concussion on Minnesota\u2019s third possession and was relieved by Wentz, who finished 12-of-19 for 133 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Vikings\u2019 39-22 victory over Green Bay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell pushed hard to trade up from No. 11 to No. 3 to select Maye in the 2024 draft, but the New England Patriots turned down then-Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah\u2019s offer, according to ESPN.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell supported drafting McCarthy, 21 at the time, with a development plan that included veteran options in 2024 \u2014 such as Sam Darnold, now with the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n

Upon drafting him, the Vikings thought McCarthy might need multiple years before it was time to play him, sources told ESPN.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) warms up before a game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, September 13, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

McCarthy missed his entire rookie season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee during the preseason.<\/p>\n

The Vikings fired Adofo-Mensah in January, and they named Nolan Teasley as the team\u2019s general manager on June 1.<\/p>\n

Teasley has said that McCarthy\u2019s story is \u201cnot written,\u201d and O\u2019Connell referred to him as \u201ca guy that we want to pour into every single day,\u201d according to ESPN. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell said Friday that Wentz will be the team\u2019s starting quarterback when the Vikings play the Bears in Chicago on Sunday. <\/p>\n

Murray participated in all three practices this week, and O\u2019Connell added that he \u201cfully anticipates\u201d Murray clearing concussion protocol next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell led the organization\u2019s decision this offseason to pursue quarterback Kyler Murray after he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7660,2681,9,11,10,22,319],"class_list":["post-350812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}