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Why It Could be Wait Until 2026 for Vikings J.J. McCarthy

Posted on November 10, 2025November 10, 2025 by David Shama

It might be time to drag out one of the oldest rants in sports regarding J.J. McCarthy.

“WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!”

To the surprise of no one with realistic expectations, the Viking quarterback has played inconsistently in his first NFL season on the field. In yesterday’s 27-19 home loss to the Ravens, he threw one touchdown pass, two interceptions and was called for one false start on a day when the team total was eight such penalties (he took the blame after the game).

He completed 20 of 42 throws for a career high 248 yards. He could have had a third interception except for a near INT by Raven linebacker Roquan Smith.

McCarthy’s completion percentage of 48 against the Ravens and 53.7 percent for the season won’t dazzle anybody. It’s a long list of rival quarterbacks who have completion percentages in the 60s and even higher. His quarterback rating of 65.8 is also subpar.

The ball sailed on McCarthy yesterday including a key fourth down ball in the fourth quarter when he overthrew a wide-open Justin Jefferson while the Vikings were trying to rally. No less authority than legendary Vikings coach Bud Grant used to say great physical attributes in a quarterback don’t mean much if accuracy is an issue.

In fairness to the 22-year-old McCarthy, we’ve seen a small sample size of his work as he made just his fourth start yesterday in the loss that dropped the Vikings record to 4-5. Daniel House, the analytics whiz, pro football authority and blogger, believes about 22 games of experience can tell the tale of a young NFL quarterback.

If that’s the metric, judgment day for McCarthy will come around mid-season in 2026. Assuming McCarthy continues his up and down play the rest of the season, but finds a steady path in 2026, he could duplicate the path of two second-season NFL quarterbacks on a roll right now.

Drake Maye and Caleb Williams were selected in the same 2024 NFL Draft that the Vikings chose McCarthy. They played as rookies, while McCarthy sat out the season with a knee injury. Maye has thrown 19 touchdown passes for the AFC East Division leading Patriots, while Williams has tossed 13 for the 6-3 Bears who finished last in the NFC North Division in 2024.

Worth Noting

Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman had 11 tackles in the loss to the Ravens, his third consecutive game with at least 10 tackles.

Kicker Will Reichard made field goals of 43 and 49 yards in the game. He has converted 18 of 20 this season, and in his second NFL season he has yet to miss an extra point.

Safety Harrison Smith, 36, is now tied with former offensive tackle Ron Yary for the sixth most games (199) ever played by a Viking.

Sharp shopper: A buyer at the Bloomington Army card show last weekend bought a limited edition signed Max Brosmer trading card for $20. The card of the former Gopher quarterback and Viking rookie is one of only eight issued by Leaf.

The football Gophers (6-3) opened as 23.5 point underdogs, per BetMGM, for Friday night’s game against No.7 ranked Oregon (8-1) in Eugene. Even folks with maroon and gold sweaters probably like the Ducks to cover.

Oregon needed a last-minute field goal in Iowa City last Saturday to defeat the Hawkeyes, 18-17. On October 25 the Gophers lost in Iowa City in a blowout, 41-3.

The 6-3 Hawkeyes have losses to Iowa State, Indiana and Oregon by a total of 10 points. They’re probably the best three loss team in the country and should be in the AP top 25.

Legendary emcee Dick Jonckowski will again work the Minnesota Old Timers Hockey Association luncheon on November 24 at Mancini’s Char House. Guest speaker will be hockey icon Natalie Darwitz.

Last Saturday University of St. Thomas basketball had a new start with the men’s and women’s teams playing first games ever at the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena. The men defeated Army West Point 83-76 before a capacity night crowd of 5,325. The women lost 67-61 to Army in the afternoon with an attendance of 984.

The basketball Gophers, with two impressive home nonconference wins against weak competition, get a major test at Missouri on Wednesday night. The Tigers are coached by Dennis Gates whose name was speculated for the Gopher job when he was coaching at Cleveland State and Minnesota was replacing Richard Pitino.

With forward Taylor Woodson lost for the season with a knee injury, it might not be surprising if University of Minnesota women’s coach Dawn Plitzuweit tries to convince forward Mallory Heyer to return. The two players had similar statistics last season and Heyer caused a stir last month with her announcement about leaving the team for personal reasons. Heyer is still enrolled at the U, per an outside source.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch turned 56 last week and speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers on Wednesday.

Players with ties to the Twins who are free agents this offseason include: Luis Arraez, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Kyle Farmer, Ty France, Mitch Garver, Liam Hendriks, Max Kepler, Tyler Mahle, Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan, Jorge Polanco, Taylor Rogers, Michael A. Taylor and Christian Vazquez.

The Wild has a so-so start to the season and it will be interesting to see what moves GM Bill Guerin may make to improve the roster. The NHL trade deadline isn’t until March 6.

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Undrafted Brosmer Wins Confidence of Coach, Teammates

Posted on November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 by David Shama

Max Brosmer, the former Golden Gopher who made the Vikings final roster as an undrafted free agent, is now the No. 2 quarterback behind J.J. McCarthy who has a brief pro history already of injuries.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said this afternoon that veteran QB John Wolford is on the practice squad for now, leaving Brosmer as the game day potential replacement for McCarthy who missed all of last season with a knee injury and was out for five games this year with a high ankle sprain.

Brosmer, 24, is two years older than McCarthy who the Vikings made the No. 10 selection in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Brosmer has six years of college football experience, five with FCS New Hampshire and one at Minnesota. McCarthy is not only younger but played only three years of college football at Michigan, including two as the starter.

O’Connell said his two young quarterbacks have become close, but he also welcomes the present of Wolford who the Vikings signed last week. At 30 years old and having played for multiple NFL teams, Wolford brings experience to the quarterback room even though he last played in a regular season game in December of 2022.

McCarthy has now played in three regular season games including yesterday’s impressive performance in the 27-24 win over the Lions in Detroit. He ran for one touchdown and threw two touchdown passes.

Brosmer has played briefly in two regular-season games, attempting eight passes, completing five and throwing for 42 yards. He played in all three preseason games and completed 35 of 58 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns.

Although the NFL trade deadline is tomorrow, O’Connell didn’t make it sound like the Vikings are anxious to change their quarterback roster. He has expressed confidence in all three of his guys.

O’Connell added that Brosmer has “been able to grow throughout the season” and that the Georgia native prepares as if he is one snap away from going into the game. Having gone through training camp and multiple weeks of the regular season, Brosmer has won the trust of his teammates, O’Connell said.

“…I think the confidence level (of teammates) would be really high in Max (if he had to replace McCarthy),” the coach said. “I know my confidence level would be very, very high in Max knowing he’s a young player, knowing it would be his first opportunity (to get in a game early). …I would have a lot of confidence in Max and certainly I know Max feels the same way.”

Worth Noting

O’Connell is upbeat about the recovery of Aaron Jones who injured the AC joint in his shoulder yesterday against the Lions. The coach said he will have an update on his starting running back later in the week.

O’Connell offered positive reports on players who have had injuries but came out okay after the game yesterday including McCarthy, Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill and Andrew Van Ginkel. He added that as of today Theo Jackson will be in concussion protocol.

Three Vikings who didn’t play in Detroit because of injuries are C.J. Ham, Josh Oliver and Ryan Kelly. Their returns to game action are unknown as they work through rehab.

Radio game day voices of the Vikings, Paul Allen, Pete Bercich and Ben Leber, share their insights about the team with Capital Club attendees on November 11 at the Minnesota Vikings Museum in Eagan. More information about the breakfast gathering and club is available from Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com.

The new Musco lighting system at Target Center is believed to cost lower seven figures and is paid for by the Timberwolves. The city owned facility now has lighting similar to other NBA venues, spotlighting the action on the court in theater-style.

Anthony Edwards, who suffered a right hamstring strain in a game Oct. 26, is cleared for contact basketball activities, the Wolves announced today. His game availability remains out while he continues to progress with his rehab program.

Josh Minott and Luka Garza, now with the Celtics after playing the three previous seasons for the Wolves, are averaging career high numbers in minutes played per game. Minott’s is at 21.8 minutes and averaging a career best 8.3 points. Garza is at 14.3 minutes and is near a career high in points per game, 6.2 compared to 6.5 in 2022-2023 with the Wolves.

Former Gopher men’s basketball player Parker Fox has been hired by the Big Ten Network to provide color commentary on telecasts.

The hiring of Derek Shelton as the new Twins manager was ripped by a knowledgeable source who reached out to Sports Headliners. He described it as a typical blunder by the Pohlads, a safe, cheap and sad hire.

Talk among a couple of knowledgeable Twins sources is that baseball and business operations boss Derek Falvey didn’t want to fire Rocco Baldelli after the season but was told to by ownership. Falvey hired Baldelli in October of 2018 and the two were believed to have a solid relationship.

Rawlings and Minor League baseball announced Gold Glove winners yesterday including High-A Cedar Rapids second baseman Kyle DeBarge who is the No. 11 prospect in the Twins farm system. The 22-year-old former 2024 draft pick had just six errors in 279 chances last season.

Ty France, who started the season with the Twins before being traded to the Blue Jays, won the American League Gold Glove Award for his fielding at first base. He was +10 Outs Above Average in 2025.

The 6-3 Gopher football team has lost all three of its road games, with remaining away games at Oregon and Northwestern. The Gophers, on a six-game home winning streak, have one remaining game in Minneapolis, the season finale against Wisconsin. Minnesota was 4-2 in away games last year including the bowl win in Charlotte.

The Golden Gopher 2027 lineup of Big Ten home games is a marketing dream for selling tickets at Huntington Bank Stadium. Minnesota has five league games (happens every other year) with a glitzy lineup of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Washington and Wisconsin.

With last Saturday’s 45-0 win over Marist, St. Thomas head football coach Glenn Caruso and associate head coach Wallie Kuchinski coached their 200^th game with the Tommies. Their all-time record is 163-37 at St. Thomas.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association has a membership drive to exceed 1,200 members. The organization is a pillar for the success of high school football in the state with its awards, events, scholarships and other activities to promote the game. https://www.mshsca.org/joinnow

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J.J. McCarthy and Teammates Pull Off a Stunner in Motown

Posted on November 2, 2025November 2, 2025 by David Shama

J.J. McCarthy made a resounding return as the Vikings’ starting quarterback today as Minnesota made timely plays on offense and used a physical defense to upset the Lions in Detroit, 27-24.

McCarthy, who had missed the previous five games with an ankle injury, threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Vikings improved their season record to 4-4 against the defending NFC North Division champion Lions who entered the game as almost a double-digit favorite. The Lions had won five straight over Minnesota prior to today.

In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter McCarthy made a couple of his biggest plays. With less than two minutes to go and trying to protect a three-point lead, McCarthy scrambled for four yards on a busted first downplay. Then on third down and five, he threw a gutsy first down pass to Jalen Nailor that allowed the Vikings to run out the clock.

McCarthy, known for his meditation preparation on game day, entered Sunday with only two previous games of NFL experience. J.J. doubters were plentiful after his early season’s underwhelming performance but today the 22-year-old was commanding in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage while delivering strong arm throws and running with speed and athleticism in a game that may turn out to be a turning point in his career.

McCarthy guided an improved offense that finally had all its starting offensive linemen except center Ryan Kelly. They gave McCarthy time to throw and opened holes for revived performance by running back Aaron Jones who had 78 yards on nine carrier before leaving the game with an upper body injury.

The Vikings weren’t going to win the game, though, without a harassing defense that held the Lions hyped running game to 65 yards and bothered quarterback Jared Goff for four quarters. Goff entered the game with a 116.4 passer rating and 74.9 passing completion percentage in home games. Today he faced a blitz-focused defense that sacked him five times while holding him under his normal performance.

The Vikings were frequently more physical than the Lions led by linebacker Blake Cashman who had 11 tackles. It was Cashman who chased down Detroit running back David Montgomery and punched out the ball in a timely third quarter play. Minnesota recovered and ended a Detroit drive with Minnesota holding a 17-14 lead.

The Vikings took over at the Lions’ 35-yard line. McCarthy took the Vikings on a short drive that resulted in his nine-yard touchdown drive to put the Vikings ahead 24-14.

In the fourth quarter Levi Drake Rodriguez blocked a Detroit field goal attempt that could have narrowed the score to 24-20. The play was part of special teams contributions to the win.

Myles Price returned a kickoff 61-yards to set up the Vikings first score in the opening quarter that tied the game at 7-7. In the second half he would have had a 99-yard TD return if not for a holding penalty by Tavierre Thomas that negated the score.

The timing of the win couldn’t have been better for the Vikings and the NFC North Division standings. The division leading Packers lost to the Panthers and now have a record of 5-2-1. The Bears and Lions are both 5-3, and within reach of the Vikings with nine more games remaining on the schedule.

Medved: Tyson ‘Poised to Have Great Year for Us’

After exhibition game wins over North Dakota State and North Dakota at Williams Arena last month, new coach Niko Medved’s Golden Gophers open the regular season at home Monday night against Gardner-Webb. In those two exhibitions, Minnesota’s leading scorer was North Carolina transfer Cade Tyson with 28 and 24 points. Look for Tyson to make that a trend this fall and winter.

Tyson played sparingly at Carolina last season after he transferred from Belmont where he averaged 15 points in 61 career games. During the 2023-204 season at Belmont he was second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 46.5.

Tyson, a 6-foot-7 guard-forward, was one of the top transfers in the portal when he decided on Carolina. But he admitted to Sports Headliners recently that his confidence “definitely took a hit” with the Tar Heels. Not so far with the Gophers though, making 18 of 26 field goal attempts, including 10 of 15 three-pointers in the exhibition games.

“…He went to North Carolina and sometimes I think fit matters,” Medved told Sports Headliners. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right marriage for both parties. And you know he’s looking for another opportunity, and I think he’s a great fit for what we do.

“And he’s hungry, he’s got a chip on his shoulder. He’s a worker and…I think fans (already) have seen—you know, it’s early—kind of what he’s capable of doing. So, I think he’s poised to have a great year for us.”

How does Tyson fit with the Gophers? Medved likes players who can play multiple positions, and he labels Tyson a “sneaky good rebounder.” He also describes Tyson as “an exceptional rebounder” who moves well without the ball and has the ability to get to the basket and draw fouls.

Could he be the go-to player when the Gophers have to win late in games? Medved thinks so, but adds that his team is still figuring out roles. “I definitely know one thing. If he’s open, I feel like it’s going in.”

The Gophers beat out Iowa for Tyson who Medved said comes from “great stock.” His brother Hunter plays in the NBA for the Nuggets.

Isaac Asuma, unlike Tyson, has struggled with his shooting in the exhibition games. The sophomore point guard is 6 of 17 from the field including 2 of 8 on three-pointers.

Medved isn’t concerned. “He’s shot the cover off of it in practice. When you watch him every day in practice, and his mechanics, and his shooting, he really shoots it well.

“I just think it’s a small sample size. …He’s a young guy. He’s a sophomore. …He just needs to see a few go in in (during) the games and I think he can really take off. I think he’s going to be a terrific shooter, and we’ve seen that in practice.”

Medved inherits a program that two of the last three seasons finished last in the Big Ten standings. “…I think for this team the goal is when the season is over, I hope people are more excited about Gopher hoops than they are going into the season,” Medved said.

“I think there is some excitement around Gopher basketball. Whatever that looks like, we’ll see. But I like the way this team is working and we just gotta keep taking it one day at a time.”

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