Hall of Famer Isn’t 100% Sold on J.J. McCarthy

“I just need to see more of that.”

Warner concluded, “He’s got the physical ability to do it. I know he can push the ball down the field, but consistency when it comes to playing the quarterback position is what this is all about. There’s enough pieces, and Coach O’Connell does such a great job of setting up his quarterback to make plays that they’re going to be a good football team.”

Warner basically needs to “see it to believe it” first.

Captain Obvious?

Warner’s comments might teeter into Captain Obvious territory. Of course McCarthy must actually set foot on a field first for onlookers to trust him. That’s the way sports work.

Jalen Nailor, Rondale Moore, and Tail Felton sharing a huddle in September.

Plenty of Time to Develop

Thankfully for the Vikings’ sake, no matter what Warner believes, McCarthy has time to mature and develop in O’Connell’s system.

McCarthy turned 22 in January and has four seasons ahead before he’s eligible for a mega contract, which will likely check in around $70 million per season — if he’s a Top 12 or better quarterback.

told The Up and Adams Show, “I know he’s ready to go. The fact that he had a season-ending injury in preseason and we still saw him every day, that says something in itself. You can tear your meniscus and it be a full season injury and it’s fine, it’s normal to not see (that person) the rest of the year unless you go look in the training room at some random hour of the day and see him in there.”

“The fact that he was still in meetings, he was still bothering us defensive players, asking ‘what coverage were you guys in here, what would you guys do in this play in the game?’ Those are the conversations that I had with J.J. going through the season. He’s just coming up to me. Dude, it’s November, and he’s talking about next year like ‘bro, I’m so ready for this offense.”