Training camp recap, Day 11: Kyler rolls as QB1

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By Matthew Coller

It’s never quiet in Vikings land. Here’s the takeaways from Tuesday’s events…

What I heard

Kevin O’Connell gave an opening statement of around seven minutes in regards to the announcement that Kyler Murray would be QB1 and then he answered every possible question as well.

Here are the highlights:

Why the announcement came now

O’Connell explained that he and GM Nolan Teasley had met before training camp and laid out the part of the schedule where they felt a decision would best allow each QB to get a sample size of performance and also be able to prepare QB1 for the season.

“I feel like we’re at a place where we’ve made a complete evaluation,” O’Connell said. “We had this timeline as Nolan and I worked through the summer kind of talking about what we wanted this to look like right around now, feeling like between nine [full] practices…we would have a good idea of kind of where guys were at and would want to provide clarity not only for the players involved, but most importantly for our team.”

Why O’Connell picked Murray

To most, Murray was the obvious choice once he signed because of his history of putting together strong seasons in Arizona in 2020, 2021 and 2024. But O’Connell wanted to know that Murray was going to be able to execute his offense at a high level before commiting. He saw that in the first two weeks of practice.

“There’s comfort from Kyler in the scheme,” O’Connell said. “He had some really high completion days where he was able to show some really, really good understanding of just putting the ball in play, playing with great timing, rhythm. You guys have seen him be explosive when there’s opportunities there, but you’ve also seen him check the ball down and put the ball in play and get us from a first-and-10 to a second-and-3.”

O’Connell then seemed to hint that there is a ceiling for Murray in this offense that he’s excited about.

“As you continue to look at the body of work through really through those 10 days, what jumped out is what could be,” he said.

What did O’Connell think of JJ McCarthy’s summer?

The Vikings consistently said that they felt McCarthy was “arrow up” this spring and summer. His performances during training camp still showed some of the inconsistency that put him in this position.

“He’s still a guy that’s only played 10 games,” O’Connell said. “He’s shown improvement off of last year, even in this training camp with the work he’s put in and his comfort level just growing a little bit day in and day out. I’m still very excited to continue to get to work with him every single day, coach him. As he knows, he’s holding the pen on his story, and we’re going to support him and try to just help him continue to improve as a young player at the most difficult position in sports.”

O’Connell was asked if McCarthy is the backup QB rather than veteran Carson Wentz and he confirmed that is the case.

KOC also said that McCarthy will get work during the preseason.

What did Kyler think of the competition?

Murray talked after practice and did not reveal his conversation with O’Connell but he did praise how the head coach went about things.

“The whole process was great,” Murray said. “Full transparency from KO to me, to JJ, to everybody in the room. The competition was what it was, and it’s everything I expected it to be. I didn’t expect to be handed the job or anything like that. I just expected to come here and compete, and I’m very appreciative of how it was handled.”

What I saw

Whether it was the freedom of the QB competition being over or the Vikings beginning a mock game preparation week, Murray was absolutely on fire on Tuesday.

Here is how his throws turned out:

Murray highlights: