RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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With all teams cutting to 53 players on Sunday afternoon, with a current maximum of 90, most if not all franchises will be making tough decisions.
The Vikings will likely be making tough decisions at quarterback, where the team has four quarterbacks. After Friday night's preseason finale, coach Kevin O'Connell opened the door to the possibility of keeping all of them on the 53-man roster.
"I don’t think it is out of the question that we try to keep all of those guys," O'Connell told reporters after the game (via a transcript generated by Minnesota's opponent, the Broncos), "but at the same time, we got to do what’s best for our team. So we’ll work through that and that will definitely be part of the conversation because there was a reason why we wanted to have a deep quarterback room, and all four of those guys had their moments throughout the last month and six weeks or so, and that’ll definitely be a part of the evaluation as we go throughout each position — making sure that our 53[=man roster] and the practice squad are exactly what we want them to look like.”
Earlier in the session, O'Connell was specifically asked where 2025 starter J.J. McCarthy stands.
“We're going to obviously evaluate our entire depth chart now," O'Connell said. "First and foremost, we got to cut down our football team. It's just going to be a tough couple of days and figure out our practice squad and potential additions to the roster at different positions. But we're going to work through that as a staff and see where he's at from a health standpoint, first and foremost. We don't have any long term concerns, still consider him day-to-day and see what that looks like."
That's hardly a firm guarantee McCarthy will be on the roster. When asked point blank about the player's status, O'Connell didn't say he's the backup to Kyler Murray. Then, O'Connell mentioned roster cuts and the practice squad.
The response opens the door to a possibility we hadn't considered: The Vikings cut McCarthy, he goes to waivers, he clears waivers (given his fully-guaranteed contract through 2027), and they offer him a spot on the practice squad.
Of course, he may not take it. But if he's going to be third on the depth chart, he's not going to play. And if an opportunity emerges with another team that would get him closer to the field, he could take it.
Would it be a major blow to the ego of a top-10 pick to be on the practice squad? Sure. But how much worse is that than not being the starter — and possibly being No. 3 behind Carson Wentz?
Regardless, the Vikings have a decision to make. Murray is QB1. Wentz may indeed have won the backup job. What will happen with McCarthy and Max Brosmer? We'll find out by Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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