EAGAN, Minn. -- J.J. Mc Carthy will open the season as the Minnesota Vikings' No. 3 quarterback, coach Kevin O'Connell confirmed Wednesday, a notable but unsurprising outcome for the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft. Mc Carthy lost his starting job to Kyler Murray during a training camp competition, and O'Connell chose Carson Wentz to be Murray's backup for Sunday's season opener against the Green Bay Packers. The depth chart at the position will be revisited weekly, O'Connell said.

Wentz started five games last season for the Vikings while Mc Carthy recovered from a right high ankle sprain. "Carson has got almost a hundred career starts," O'Connell said. "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."

Mc Carthy missed his entire rookie season in 2024 because of a torn meniscus in his right knee, but the Vikings bid farewell to starter Sam Darnold and were unable to re-sign veteran Daniel Jones. That made Mc Carthy their 2025 starter by default. He played poorly enough -- ranking 36th of 40 qualified quarterbacks in Total QBR -- that the Vikings signed Murray to a one-year contract in March. When Murray won the job on Aug. 11, Mc Carthy was No. 2, but erratic preseason play and an ankle injury moved Wentz ahead.

O'Connell said he has had multiple positive conversations with Mc Carthy, who remains with the team. "There's always a big picture," O'Connell said, "that's probably a larger scale than the Week 1 depth chart. But at the same time, I thought he's been incredibly professional."