Its pretty simple and straight forward IMO....

[StickierBuns]

And this is probably stating the obvious, but.....if Minnesota does not get another 'substantial' QB into Minnesota this offseason, and trust me, there'll be a few decent vets available via trade or even a guy like Malik Willis, the staff has seen enough of JJM to feel strongly about his ability to improve in 2026 and beyond. They've seen the warts, the inconsistency, etc. and even more internally to know better than fans do. KOC has been through the ringer this season with QB injuries and injuries overall and I can't see him NOT doing something if felt seriously concerned. No way the passing offense will look like it looked this season next year, whether thats with JJM starting or another QB. 

Fans can agree or not, get upset about doing nothing but pushing forward with JJM, but the actions will speak for what the org. believes in. If they want to go into another direction OR have a REAL QB competition in '26, they'll be able to do it. If they don't, its a massive statement in their belief of McCarthy. Pretty simple. This is basically the careers in Minnesota of both KOC and KAM hanging in the balance....so the action or inaction will be quite loud. Everyone knows my opinion and how I feel about McCarthy, so I won't belabor it other than to say I expect JJM to look much better next season. JMO. But if they make a loud action contrary to continuing unencumbered with him, then we'll have our answer as fans.

Happy New Year, everyone! One of these days......

[Still Hurtn]

Williams, Daniels, Maye, and Nix have a shown special abilities in different ways. Penix and JJM not so much. My pure speculation is JJM is not the guy and Kwesi and KOC need to figure this out quickly or be apart of what could have been club.

[Vikesrock]

I think the guy everyone should be talking about is Kirko Chains. A deal for a 5th or a 6th to Atlanta and you eat some of that contract for them. You have a decent backup that knows your system, that way if Glass JJ gets hurt then I believe Kirk can get you through a couple of games as well as not stunting JJ's growth.

[Greylock]

No way Cousins is going to come to the Vikings unless he is guaranteed a legit chance at being the starter. We all know from the Zimmer years they didn't want a backup that would pose a threat to Kirk's fragile feelings being the starter. Kirk is all about himself and his bank account so whoever he feels will pay him the most is where he is going to end up.

[MAD GAINZ]

Williams, Daniels, Maye, and Nix have a shown special abilities in different ways. Penix and JJM not so much. My pure speculation is JJM is not the guy and Kwesi and KOC need to figure this out quickly or be apart of what could have been club.

Daniels did as a rookie.  He was hurt more than "Glass JJ McCarthy" this season.  Even when Daniels was healthy, he didn't look as dynamic as his rookie year.  

Williams took a ton of sacks and played pretty inconsistent his rookie year.  He's still taking bad sacks, but he's gotten better as a passer as the season has went on.  Still reminds me of Kyler Murray, we'll see if he has lasting power.

Nix started terribly his rookie year and then played very well in the second half of his rookie year. His stats get padded by a ton of short passes and he has an inconsistent deep ball yet.  Denver's defense is the main reason they have been a playoff team the past two years, helps Nix out too.

Maye and Penix were both up and down their rookie years.  Maye is playing some great football against an easy schedule.  I think Maye has looked the cleanest this year of the 2024 QB class.

We saw a couple great games from JJ McCarthy, a couple bad games, and a few average-ish ones where he showed some clutch factor (both Chicago games).  Jury is still out... but other than the injuries, we saw a great ceiling and enough clutch throws to feel like JJ McCarthy could be next year's version of Drake Maye.  Just needs more reps and to stay on the field.

[IceRatz16]

And this is probably stating the obvious, but.....if Minnesota does not get another 'substantial' QB into Minnesota this offseason, and trust me, there'll be a few decent vets available via trade or even a guy like Malik Willis, the staff has seen enough of JJM to feel strongly about his ability to improve in 2026 and beyond. They've seen the warts, the inconsistency, etc. and even more internally to know better than fans do. KOC has been through the ringer this season with QB injuries and injuries overall and I can't see him NOT doing something if felt seriously concerned. No way the passing offense will look like it looked this season next year, whether thats with JJM starting or another QB. 

Fans can agree or not, get upset about doing nothing but pushing forward with JJM, but the actions will speak for what the org. believes in. If they want to go into another direction OR have a REAL QB competition in '26, they'll be able to do it. If they don't, its a massive statement in their belief of McCarthy. Pretty simple. This is basically the careers in Minnesota of both KOC and KAM hanging in the balance....so the action or inaction will be quite loud. Everyone knows my opinion and how I feel about McCarthy, so I won't belabor it other than to say I expect JJM to look much better next season. JMO. But if they make a loud action contrary to continuing unencumbered with him, then we'll have our answer as fans.

Happy New Year, everyone! One of these days......

Agreed.  I would bring in Malik Willis for competition and may the best man win.  I'm a huge McCarthy fan and believe he is the future and Willis would be a good backup at the very least.  I'm not as concerned about injuries as many Vikings fans are/have been with McCarthy, as I truly believe they have been freak situations and not the norm for him going forward.  He is tough and will play through pain and will continue to improve.  This offseason will be huge for him and Jefferson and the future of this organization.  I am not an eternal optimist, more of a realist, but I'm seeing things a little more rosy than most in this area.

[Vikesrock]

No way Cousins is going to come to the Vikings unless he is guaranteed a legit chance at being the starter.  We all know from the Zimmer years they didn't want a backup that would pose a threat to Kirk's fragile feelings being the starter.  Kirk is all about himself and his bank account so whoever he feels will pay him the most is where he is going to end up.

I think being in Atlanta as Penix's backup may have helped.  Who knows, he would be the perfect fit now for the Vikings.  I think he likes it here, he likes O'Connell, maybe he would come back for a couple of seasons and backup JJ.  That way his next 100 million dollar contract can be QB coach?

[purplefaithful]

Do they need to bring in a more capable back-up?
The injury history of McCarthy dictates they bring in someone capable of winning games.
- He's now missed 25 1/2 out of a possible 34 games
They cant have someone as green as a Brosmer at QB2 again.

They cant have a roster the caliber they have and too many ??? at QB.
- We revisited 2008 this season, I dont need an encore of that.

Does McCarthy have franchise QB ceiling?
We dont know the answer to that yet and I'm not sure if KOC does either?
Maybe that will get clarified at his post-season presser.
I'm inclined to think they're not sure yet

Just like a politician or lawyer, watch what they do (not what they say) to figure out their position

Disappointing season behind us, interesting off-season ahead.

[medaille]

I don't think we'll bring in a QB that can truly challenge for a starting spot. At best it's a guy that failed and is looking for a reclamation project or a guy who's a fringe starter.

I'm less concerned about who the backup is, but more concerned about the process. I don't think we can afford to have the same situation as last year, where Howell couldn't dissect KOC's complex scheme, and then we brought Wentz in, and he didn't really have time to learn KOC's complex scheme, and JJM and Brosmer both struggled with his complex scheme in their first handful of starts. Even Cousins said it took him 7-8 games to get comfortable in this offense. I think a lot of our struggles on offense were due to KOC's scheme just being a lot for a QB to get comfortable in.

I think we need to:
1) Better integrate a simpler offense that is easier to implement with newish QBs. It kind of felt like we built this as we went along, because we were struggling, rather than having a simpler core with the KOC stuff stacked on top of it. So it's not all or nothing, and we have a stable base to fall back to if the complicated stuff isn't working.
2) Bring in the right backup QB at the very beginning and give them appropriate time to marinate in the system.
3) As a bonus 3rd item, I think they really need to hammer out a solid plan for how they plan to fix JJM's mechanics while he's out of their control. Whatever they did last offseason, didn't work at all. If they need to find him a different QB coach or just give him better direction.

[MaroonBells]

I think unless Flores makes him look foolish, Malik Willis is going to get a starting job somewhere and the money that goes with it.