AP Photo/Abbie Parr
By DAVE CAMPBELL
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The combination of skills and experience Kyler Murray carried with him to the Minnesota Vikings has made him their presumptive starting quarterback this upcoming season, even if the coaching staff declared an open competition for the job with J.J. McCarthy.
In his first public comments since Murray was cut by the starting-over Arizona Cardinals and signed with the eager-to-contend Vikings, McCarthy sounded as though he understood the situation but did not necessarily appreciate it.
“Look, the organization made a decision that they feel like is going to improve the depth and the quality of the room,” McCarthy said Wednesday after the first offseason practice session the team opened to reporters.
“All I’m thinking about is continuing the upward trajectory that I set for myself last season — that last quarter of the season — and continuing to be the best version of me every single day.”
Asked directly if he was disappointed that the Vikings acquired Murray, McCarthy said, “Then I would be disappointed if the rain fell. That’s out of my control. At the end of the day, I’ve just got to focus on what I can do to be the best quarterback for this football team.”
As for his nascent relationship with Murray, McCarthy said there’s no awkwardness between them but, well, sure didn’t sound warm about it in his terse response.
“It’s just like two guys in a classroom. He sits on one side. I sit on the other side. And it’s the coaches responsibility to teach us and coach us,” McCarthy said.
Murray, for his part, didn’t hesitate to speak highly of the working arrangement, which is undoubtedly easier to do as an eighth-year player in the NFL with multiple standout seasons on his resume. Murray said McCarthy has been “overly” receptive to his input as a veteran with 87 starts.
“We’re both competitors. I know we both want what’s best for the team,” Murray said. “He’s always communicating, asking questions, stuff like that, so it’s been good.”
Murray has deftly dodged any discussion of depth chart expectation. Even with all of the assets the Vikings offer — from top-notch facilities to a quarterback-friendly head coach in Kevin O’Connell to star wide receiver Justin Jefferson — he likely wouldn’t have picked Minnesota on a one-year minimum-salary contract if he didn’t think he’d be the starter. Whether the job was privately promised to him or not hardly matters.
“My confidence is unshakeable. That’s how I feel about myself,” Murray said. “Regardless of what happens day to day, I know the next day I’m coming out here giving my best effort.”
McCarthy declined to specify whether he’s made any changes to his throwing mechanics, after being dogged by erratic performances during his injury-impacted rocky debut. He has spent plenty of time since the offseason began, however, working on the field with Jefferson.
“Just building those on-time and on-rhythm passes for each concept and each route,” McCarthy said. “It’s just tremendous to be around that guy every single day.”
When Vikings players reconvened last month to begin the formal offseason training program, Jefferson spoke candidly to reporters about his excitement over Murray’s arrival — and his expectation for McCarthy’s improvement.
“It’s good to get some good talent in that room to kind of give a little spark in that room, to see a competitive edge from those guys to lock in and do what we’re expecting them to do, which is to come in and to be that guy,” said Jefferson, the two-time All-Pro who has entered his seventh year in the NFL. “We have great talent in that room, especially for J.J. to get that spark in him and for Kyler to come from Arizona and continue that spark.”
Assuming Murray wins the job this season, his mobility ought to open up more space for Jefferson down the field.
“Definitely looking forward to his speed, his quickness, his arm strength that he’s shown countless times over the years,” Jefferson said. “For J.J., somebody into that room with that type of ability, that type of talent, he’s got to step it up a little bit. So it’s good for him to feel that type of pressure and to really lock in a little bit and say, ‘It’s either now, or I’m going to take that backseat again.’”
*Associated Press
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