These next few days will be relentless for the Vikings' front office and coaching staff. There is a lot to sort through after the loss.

It's safe to say there's a lot riding on J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota. The Vikings won 14 games and flirted with the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed a year ago. Instead of paying big bucks to retain the quarterback who led that charge,

Yes, Vikings running back Aaron Jones compared J.J. McCarthy's football brain to Aaron Rodgers. That's an incredible compliment from a teammate, but one that comes with a bit more strength since Jones was Rodgers' teammate in Green Bay for six seasons.

The Minnesota Vikings took J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick of the NFL Draft last year, so you would think that Arch Manning — or any of the quarterbacks set to be featured in the 2026 draft class — would not be on their radar.

In an ideal world, J.J. McCarthy would have spent his first training camp as the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback throwing to one of the NFL's best receiving trios: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor.

J.J. McCarthy needs to prove his the franchise QB for the Vikings this season. If not, this Texas could be on Minnesota's radar.