Former NFL safety and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick believes the writing is on the wall for the end of the J.J. McCarthy era in Minnesota if the Vikings sign Kyler Murray.
Riddick took to “NFL on ESPN” to comment on the recent reports that the Vikings could be interested in signing Murray, the recently released Arizona Cardinals quarterback, to add to their quarterback room. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported the news on X this week.
The Vikings plan to make a push for Kyler Murray and are the favorite to land the former No. 1 overall pick, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Finally released today by Arizona, Murray will take his time and wants to speak with interested teams. But Minnesota is the team to beat.
Should Murray come in and play well for the Vikings, Riddick believes that “it’s over” for the former first-round draft pick in Minnesota.
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“It’s over. It’s over for J.J. They sign him [Kyler Murray], it’s over. Look, okay, so, all right, you bring Kyler Murray in there, right? It’s a new system for him. He has to get reps. You have to actually see him take enough snaps with the starters in order to have enough intel to really figure out whether or not, okay, this is a guy who I think really does level us up at this quarterback position.
“And given what happened to them before with Sam, if he winds up winning the job and he winds up playing well, they’re not gonna just let him go then. They’re gonna wind up saying, look, we need to go ahead and figure this out now for the future, for how we can keep him long-term.”
If the Vikings find themselves in a situation where they swap to Murray full-time as their starter, McCarthy would then be in a position where he’ll need a veteran to take him under his wing in order to succeed as a pro. Riddick was adamant that Murray is not the man for that particular job.
“And now you’re gonna have a guy in J.J. McCarthy who’s gonna be running scout team, taking some reps, a guy who already needs to be kind of like shown the way by a veteran who can kind of help him become a better pro, become a guy who really drills down on the details, and matures from an emotional standpoint.
“That’s not Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray doesn’t care about that. Kyler Murray’s not there for that. So for J.J. McCarthy, look, I know you moved up to 10 to pick him. It’s gonna be time to move on from him. You sign Kyler Murray, I’m telling you – it’s over. It’s over for J.J. McCarthy, in my opinion. It’s over.”
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Injury woes spoil J.J. McCarthy’s early NFL run
J.J. McCarthy came into the NFL with quite a bit of hype after his CFP national championship win with the Michigan Wolverines in the 2023 season. Minnesota VIkings opted to select McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft as a result, hoping he’d be the answer to the club’s franchise quarterback question.
However, a torn meniscus during the preseason ended his 2024 campaign before the regular season. Quarterback Sam Darnold took the reins, leading an impressive regular-season campaign before departing to Seattle the next season, eventually winning the Super Bowl with the Seahawks in the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, McCarthy struggled as the new frontman in 2025. The 23-year-old played only 10 games in 2025, missing several due to multiple injuries. His stat line on the year finished with 1,632 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
His poor showing has led many to speculate that the Vikings could be considering moving on from the young signal-caller as their long-term solution at quarterback. A potential Kyler Murray signing would certainly lend credence to that case.