J.J. McCarthy, a first-round pick in 2024, named Vikings' No. 3 quarterback behind backup Carson Wentz

This time last year, J.J. McCarthy had just led Minnesota to a come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Bears in his NFL debut as the presumed Vikings quarterback of the future.

On Sunday, he won't even be Minnesota's backup. Head coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters on Wednesday that veteran Carson Wentz will serve as the backup to starter Kyler Murray in Minnesota's season opener against the Green Bay Packers . McCarthy will start the season as the No. 3 quarterback.

"This gives us the best chance to win this Sunday," O'Connell said.

O'Connell described the backup situation in Minnesota as "week-to-week." He cited Wentz's NFL experience that includes 99 starts across 10 seasons as playing a role in his decision.

"I'm looking at that right now as a week-to-week thing," O'Connell said of the depth chart behind Murray. "Carson, he's got almost 100 career starts. What he was able to do last year from a standpoint of very limited repetition but being able to apply a career's worth of experience, that's kind of what you need to do as a backup quarterback."

As for McCarthy, O'Connell said that "he's still gonna get a bunch of great work" in practice.

"I'm just really excited to continue to get a chance to work with him and want to make it week to week," O'Connell said. "When we feel like we need to declare something different, we can and we will."

McCarthy's rough 2025 led Vikings to move on from him as starter

The Vikings selected McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after he'd led Michigan to a national championship. He sustained a season-ending meniscus injury before the season started, and Sam Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record as Minnesota's starting quarterback in 2024.

The Vikings let Darnold walk in free agency to the Seattle Seahawks in favor of McCarthy after Darnold struggled down the stretch and in a 27-9 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams .

McCarthy was named the starter in 2025. He got off to a shaky start in his Week 1 debut against the Bears on "Monday Night Football," then led the Vikings to 21 fourth-quarter points in a 27-24 Minnesota win.

McCarthy sustained a high-ankle sprain in a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and missed five games before returning in Week 9. He struggled with accuracy and failed to complete more than 56% of his passes in four straight games.

McCarthy finished his rookie campaign having completed 57.6% of his passes for 163.2 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 starts for a Vikings team that missed the playoffs at 9-8. His future as Minnesota's quarterback was in peril, and the Vikings signed Murray in the offseason, virtually ensuring that he had lost his starting job.

Making matters worse in Minnesota was watching Darnold and the Seahawks win the Super Bowl.

Now McCarthy has been relegated to third-string quarterback as the Vikings seek to turn the page on last year's disappointment and return to playoff contention.