Kevin SeifertApr 20, 2026, 03:25 PM ETCloseKevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Justin Jefferson: McCarthy has to step it up a bit with Kyler in QB room (0:27)Justin Jefferson explains why it’s good that J.J. McCarthy has to feel the pressure with Kyler Murray in the Vikings’ quarterback room. (0:27)
On the one hand, Jefferson has worked extensively this offseason with 2025 starter J.J. McCarthy in an effort to elevate McCarthy after a rocky debut season. On the other, Jefferson knows that free agent acquisition Kyler Murray has a long history of making the kind of plays that McCarthy couldn’t muster consistently last season.
“I’m definitely looking for those big, exciting plays [from Murray],” Jefferson said on the first day of the Vikings’ offseason program. “I’m definitely looking forward to his speed, his quickness, his arm strength that he’s shown countless times over the years.
Murray signed a one-year contract March 13 and, though many around the NFL expect him to emerge as the Vikings’ starter, coach Kevin O’Connell has said there is no need to discuss depth charts at any position during the offseason. That has left open the possibility that McCarthy, the No. 10 pick of the 2024 draft, could win the job during training camp.
Jefferson pledged at the end of last season to help McCarthy through the offseason in any way he could, and Monday he confirmed that the pair have met on multiple occasions over the past few months. Most of their meetings took place in Minnesota, Jefferson said, but others were at a “designated location,” he said with a smile.
McCarthy appears “a lot more confident into where I’m going to be at,” Jefferson added, “how fast I’m going to get there, what timing to throw that ball before I break.”
Whether or not McCarthy truly mounts a challenge, Murray’s arrival will generate a new edge in otherwise low-intensity offseason workouts.
“It’s really good to get some good talent in the room to give a little spark in that room,” Jefferson said, “to see a competitive edge and from those guys to really lock in and to do what we’re expecting them to do, which is to come in and to be that guy.
“And we need that one guy for this team. So I’m definitely excited for that room, excited to see what those guys have in store for us in training camp.”
Justin Jefferson: McCarthy has to step it up a bit with Kyler in QB room (0:27)Justin Jefferson explains why it’s good that J.J. McCarthy has to feel the pressure with Kyler Murray in the Vikings’ quarterback room. (0:27)
Justin Jefferson explains why it’s good that J.J. McCarthy has to feel the pressure with Kyler Murray in the Vikings’ quarterback room. (0:27)
Kevin SeifertApr 20, 2026, 03:25 PM ETCloseKevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseKevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.Follow on X