Jefferson blunt about McCarthy's future with Murray a Viking - ESPN

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."

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