Four starts into his pro career, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has performed exactly like a guy who has, well, only made four starts since entering the NFL in 2024.
In his four games this season, McCarthy has completed 53.7 percent of his passes for 692 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions. He’s also rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns in his four appearances in the Vikings’ starting lineup this year.
Despite McCarthy’s struggles, which were to be expected, Minnesota has come away with wins in two of his four starts this season.
Still, some are already beginning to think about alternative signal-caller options for the Vikings in the near future, including ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, who recently shared that he believes the team needs to have a quarterback competition next year to get the most out of McCarthy.
Thankfully, NBC Sports’ Chris Simms fired back at Florio and made sure to remind everyone that Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell needs to do a better job at setting his young quarterback up for success each week.
“They’ve got to help out a little bit, too. Again, he can’t be the leading rusher.
He can’t be the leading rusher and the leading passer and do everything, and this, to me, goes back on the Vikings and Kevin O’Connell.
Last week, they helped them out. Yeah, special teams were big. The defense made some plays. They ran the ball. And then he made a few plays to go along with that. He’s still a rookie. And that’s the way it has to be.
Yesterday was like, ‘Hey, it’s your fourth start ever. Can you carry us to victory against Baltimore, who’s on fire and foaming out of their mouth?’ And I just don’t think that’s fair to him right there.
So that’s where I just say, ‘Let’s just wait it out just a little longer before you try to walk him off the plank. Okay?’”
In the days since Minnesota’s loss to the Ravens, plenty have taken up the opportunity to jump ship on McCarthy ever developing into a good quarterback in the NFL. But four starts just isn’t enough to accurately predict how a quarterback’s future is going to turn out.
Plenty of underwhelming signal-callers from the recent past have put up great numbers in their first four NFL starts under center, while several elite quarterbacks began their pro careers in a similar fashion to McCarthy.
Passer Rating through first 4 NFL starts (minimum 50 attempts):
Jake Browning – 109.3
Kyle Allen – 108.3
Tommy DeVito – 103.8
Bailey Zappe – 103.1
Gardner Minshew – 101.0
J.J. McCarthy – 65.8
Matthew Stafford – 65.5
Joe Flacco – 61.9
Josh Allen – 61.0
Peyton Manning – 52.1
♂️
Yes, the day and age we live has increased the want for instant gratification, but the development of a young quarterback isn’t something that typically allows for that.
At best, the majority of a young passer’s first few starts are full of more negatives than positives. The the time in the following offseason is then spent on fixing the quarterback’s biggest issues, and if any noticeable improvements are made, then in year two, the play of the signal-caller should begin to feature more postives than negatives each week.
But this constant rush to judgement about McCarthy’s future with the Vikings is already as getting out of control. It’s no different than those who stand up immediately after a plane has landed, despite having to wait for the majority of the passengers to exit before they can get off.
What’s the hurry? Let the kid figure out how to be a quarterback in the NFL before declaring he’s a gigantic bust.
If McCarthy eventually ends up not living up to the expectations that came with being the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, then that’s fine. But for now, he’s deserving of more time and patience as he attempts to figure out if he has what it takes to become Minnesota’s next great quarterback.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had an up-and-down 2025 season thus far. At times, the team has looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and other times not so much, especially during their Week 10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. As we arrive at the second half of the season, some questions begin to arise about the team’s plans for the future, specifically at the quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers has played well for the majority of the 2025 campaign, but who will be taking snaps for the Steelers in 2026 remains uncertain.
The Steelers’ decision at quarterback could be one of the most significant choices of the Mike Tomlin era. When Pittsburgh signed Rodgers this past offseason, the move was viewed as a short-term solution for a franchise that’s been searching for stability since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season. For the most part, Rodgers has delivered. His leadership, accuracy, and experience have provided a spark that’s helped the Steelers stay competitive in the AFC playoff race. Rodgers has hinted at the possibility of retirement in the past, and after a grueling season, the decision may finally come down to how his body feels when the year concludes.
At first glance, adding another experienced signal-caller might seem like a plausible option in 2026. After all, Tomlin has leaned toward veterans before, bringing in Rodgers and previously Russell Wilson. However, not everyone within the Steelers’ circle believes that approach is realistic this time around if Rodgers doesn’t come back. During his Wednesday chat for the
“No, that’s not happening,” Dulac wrote.
That brief but definitive answer seems to shut the door on the idea of another veteran replacement, leaving just a few realistic paths forward. If Rodgers retires, Pittsburgh’s 2026 quarterback could come from within the building or from the upcoming draft. The two in-house candidates would be Mason Rudolph and Will Howard.
Rudolph, who re-signed with the team in the offseason after spending 2024 with the Tennessee Titans, has long served as a reliable backup and spot starter. His familiarity with the organization could make him a steady short-term option if the Steelers choose to avoid a drastic transition. However, at this stage of his career, Rudolph is unlikely to be viewed as a long-term solution.
Howard, on the other hand, represents more of a wild card. The rookie out of Ohio State has yet to take a snap for the black and gold, but his talent along with his success at the collegiate level makes him an interesting prospect. However, reports around the organization believe that the team doesn’t look at Howard as the franchise quarterback.
If neither Rudolph nor Howard is seen as the future, Pittsburgh could turn to the 2026 NFL Draft. At this point, it is unclear to see where the Steelers will be selecting, but the question then becomes will the Steelers have to trade-up in order to grab a talented quarterback. The Steelers have a large selection of draft picks at their disposal, and trading multiple picks to climb up and take a quarterback is definitely on the table.
Drafting a quarterback is one thing, but to throw that quarterback into the fire is another. If the Steelers do indeed draft a quarterback, they will then have to decide if they want that rookie to be under center in Week 1 of the 2026 season, or if they will potentially look to Rudolph or Howard to hold down the fort until that rookie is ready.