Tom Pelissero Offers His 2 Cents on Top Vikings Issue

Tom Pelissero is a national insider who has strong connections to the Minnesota Vikings. He therefore brings some authority behind his words.

Recently, Pelissero chatted with Rich Eisen, known for (among other things) running a blistering forty. Apparently, Minnesota is working through a true battle at quarterback, giving each guy near identical opportunities to prove capable of being the QB1.

Tom Pelissero Says it’s a True QB1 Battle

“They are splitting this 50/50,” Pelissero explained about the purple passer battle.

To my eye, the split was essentially even, as Pelissero indicates. J.J. McCarthy would get run with the starters; next up would be Kyler Murray with the starters. Neither were dominant forces completing every pass. Both made mistakes. What seemed to emerge, though, was a situation where the kid QB — McCarthy — was the better of the pair across the three days of practice.

J.J. McCarthy throws a pass against the Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. — Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy drops back and delivers a first-quarter throw at U.S. Bank Stadium, Jan 4, 2026, in Minneapolis against the Green Bay Packers. The snapshot captured McCarthy operating within the structure of the offense early, as Minnesota looked to establish rhythm and tempo during a high-stakes divisional matchup. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

At times, Murray turned the ball over. Some of that is to be forgiven since he’s so new and is human. More concerning, perhaps, is that there were several snaps where he struggled to find an open man. Being in a real football game instead of 7-on-7 would have led to some chaos.

Pelissero had more to say: “[Kevin O’Connell] wants this to be fair all the way through the entire process.” Next up was a reasonably juicy proclamation: “I think that at this stage coming out of minicamp, the coaches probably have a pretty good idea what direction they think this is going to go. And I don’t anticipate it takes all three preseason games for them to arrive at that conclusion.”

On Thursday after the final day of minicamp, Kevin O’Connell essentially offered the precise idea Pelissero is offering. Seeing this QB battle go all of the way to Week 1 isn’t going to happen.

The reason why Minnesota is in the clunky scenario they’re in is due to what was a horrendous passing attack last year. J.J. McCarthy deserved better stats, often letdown by WRs who dropped too many balls, an OL that was very injured, and an HC who refused to run with consistency.

Still, things got ugly. McCarthy finished his season at 6-4 behind 57.6% passing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Dec 13, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, Murray has never lacked for accuracy. Nor, for that matter, is arm strength, speed, or promise more broadly an issue. He can do a ton well.

Where Murray has struggled has been with winning. Very seldom has he turned the Cardinals into a strong team, if ever at all. In seven seasons, Murray went to the playoffs a single time. He then got demolished while there.

Worse yet, the injuries have piled up in his career and his work ethic has been a source of concern. Kicking things back even further involves remembering the doubts about Murray’s commitment to football since he was so good at baseball that he had a chance to play pro in the MLB.

Oh, and for the record, Tom Pelissero did predict Kyler Murray as the starting quarterback. He seemingly did so as an assessment coming from his own perspective rather than delivering insight from Vikings coaches and/or executives.