Possible One-Word Slip From Kevin O'Connell Becomes OTA Talking Point – Sports Illustrated

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Kevin O'Connell has a tough job that comes with a lot of responsibilities. One of those is talking to the media on a regular basis (including four times per week during the regular season). O'Connell says a lot of words every time he takes the mic, but in his role as an NFL head coach, there's always the chance that one single word will become a point of discussion on the internet.
That's what happened after Thursday's OTA practice and subsequent O'Connell press conference. Asked about how J.J. McCarthy has handled the addition of a veteran quarterback, which became a big talker last week when McCarthy spoke, here's what the Vikings' coach had to say.
"I think he's handled it really well," O'Connell said. "He's been great in the meeting rooms, spending a little bit more time with those guys. And just the dialogue between the group, obviously the great questions you get from those guys as we're going through the installation process. … He's been great in the meeting rooms, he's been great on the grass, and as always, he's, as a former — as a captain and a guy that helps lead our team, he's been phenomenal there as well."
O'Connell quickly caught himself after saying the word "former," but with press conferences being streamed live, it got out there. And fans took notice. This video on X/Twitter of the entire answer has nearly 2 million views, with many quote tweets and replies noting the use of the word former at around the 52-second mark.
Kevin O’Connell talks about JJ McCarthy’s handling of the Kyler Murray signing. pic.twitter.com/Auxy8fVZQX
The assumption everyone is rolling with is that O'Connell was going to call McCarthy a "former captain" before correcting himself. And the next leap from there is to infer that the quarterback competition between McCarthy and Kyler Murray isn't much of a true competition in O'Connell's mind, with McCarthy likely to be the backup and no longer serve as a team captain. That's what people seem to be going with.
To be fair to O'Connell, we don't know what was going through his mind and if he was going to say "former captain" or former something else. It also should be noted that everyone is technically a former captain until new ones are voted on by the team before each season. Because it's a team-voted process, O'Connell doesn't know for certain, one way or another, if McCarthy will be a captain again in 2026, even if the starting quarterback obviously has a better chance of being voted as such than the backup does.
But it's not just random social media users taking note of KOC's possible slip in word choice. It even made it to Good Morning Football, where five-time Pro Bowler Terron Armstead felt it was notable.
"It's a slip, but is it?" Armstead said. "Words matter. To put former in front of captain — and of course, you have to vote every year, it's a process to it — but that starting quarterback spot and the captain position, he's most likely included with those five, six guys. So to have that uncertainty, to have that word slip, it's not for nothing."
.@T_Armstead72 weighs in on the latest with the @Vikings QB competition 📝 pic.twitter.com/JMNMFLWaiM
All of the recent buzz seems to be pointing toward Murray being the clear favorite to win the Vikings' quarterback job, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise given his résumé. Still, it's early June, and there's a long ways to go in this offseason.
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Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.
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