The Minnesota Vikings had a disappointing 2025 season. Minnesota finished the regular season 9-8 and missed the playoffs despite their five-game winning streak. Now the Vikings need to figure out how to fix what went wrong during the 2026 offseason.
The Athletic's Alec Lewis warned the Vikings about improving their quarterback play during the 2026 season in a recent article.
Lewis commended superstar receiver Justin Jefferson for displaying real maturity while dealing with Minnesota's turbulent quarterback position throughout 2025. He warned that it would be a mistake to take the same approach again.
“Expecting Jefferson to accept another season like this one with such offensive ineptitude would be ill-advised,” Lewis wrote on Tuesday. “This is, in part, what makes the forthcoming quarterback decisions massive.”
Lewis noted that Jefferson has only made two playoff appearances during his six seasons in the NFL. He will certainly have his eyes set on postseason success in 2026.
Jefferson gave a lukewarm response when asked about McCarthy being Minnesota's starter in 2026 last week.
“That’s not my job,” Jefferson said. “Of course I would love for him to be here and to be the quarterback, especially after this year. I feel like he needs to prove to everybody that he is that top-tier quarterback. I would love to have him and work with him and show everybody that he is the No. 1 guy.”
Jefferson took the high road again on Sunday, attempting to sidestep a question about whether he'd prefer to play with a veteran quarterback.
“It is what it is,” he said. “That’s not really my option or my job to make that call. My job is, whoever is the starter, to get him right, and to get him to where we need to get. And J.J. is our guy right now, so my job is to connect with him during the offseason and get him to where we need to go.”
To be clear, Jefferson is going out of his way to not make a big issue of McCarthy's struggles. But Lewis seems to be suggesting that this attitude won't last forever.
It will be interesting to see what kind of competition the Vikings add to their quarterback room this offseason.
