EAGAN, Minn. — As the Minnesota Vikings navigate a likely quarterback change this offseason, receiver Justin Jefferson has found himself squarely in the middle.
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.
Speaking publicly Monday for the first time about the Vikings’ new quarterback room, which also includes Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer, Jefferson said he is looking forward to Murray’s playmaking skills and was blunt about McCarthy’s future.
“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.
“And then for J.J., for somebody to enter 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 back seat again.’ So it’s all a competitive mindset when it comes to these type of things. So it’s all about who’s ready for that moment and who’s ready to step up and take that initiative.”
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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.
“Really just anywhere where we can meet up and find time to really throw the ball to each other,” he said. “And it really doesn’t have to be having to run 30 different routes, but it’s all about just feeling the ball coming and seeing the ball coming out of his hand and then just feeling the impact and the velocity of his football. So it’s great to just get that timing down pat, starting way earlier now than starting in training camp. So just getting a little head start, and it definitely feels good working with him.”
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.”
