The Chicago Bears are building something special with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams leading the charge. They seek to win another NFC North title in 2026, but will have to go through the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers again to do so.
And while these teams have made some changes to their roster in free agency, fans in the Windy City can't help but chuckle at how the Vikings have handled J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota and Kyler Murray agreed on a one-year, $1.3 million deal, but during the process, the Vikings expressed they could be ready to dump McCarthy on the back burner.
Vikings Seem Ready to Move On from J.J. McCarthy
In an article posted by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, he revealed that Minnesota believes that Murray can be more than a one-year flier.
"And while Murray still has to win the job from McCarthy, what O’Connell said to Murray did stick with him—that he was the one guy on the market that they could see as a potential longer-range answer, rather than a one-year Band-Aid," Breer wrote.
The fact that this information is made public shows how the Vikings feel about McCarthy. They have let Murray know that if he produces, he'll be the long-term answer at QB, not McCarthy. It's been a shaky two years for the former Michigan product, and that doesn't bother anyone in Chicago. McCarthy missed his rookie season in 2024 with a torn meniscus, then missed time again in 2025 due to an ankle sprain, concussion, and a hand injury.
And even when he played, he was underwhelming. McCarthy had 1,632 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. In his two starts against the Bears, McCarthy didn't show much either. He went 29-of-52 (55 percent) for 293 passing yards, three passing scores, and three interceptions. McCarthy failed to eclipse more than 150 passing yards in either game, which is quite the feat considering the Bears ranked 23rd in the NFL in pass defense (227.2) last season.
It only took 10 games for the Vikings to look elsewhere for a quarterback, which shows how they feel about McCarthy. They used the 10th overall pick on him during the 2024 NFL draft, but things appear headed for a breakup.
Meanwhile, Murray was limited to five games last season due to a foot sprain that didn't get better. Taking a chance on Murray shows how desperate the Vikings were to move on from McCarthy. It feels better for Chicago, as they clearly found their QB/HC tandem for the future. But their division foe is scrambling to get an answer there.
Minnesota knows it whiffed on the McCarthy pick and decided to reverse course. Although it will be a QB competition, it's obvious they are over the McCarthy experiment.
The Bears, seeing their rival quickly look to find another option at quarterback, have to be entertaining at the very least. In Week 1 of the 2024 season, McCarthy led the Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Bears in his first start. Now, eight months later, he has effectively lost his job.