The J.J. McCarthy Rumor Gets Another Gust of Wind

Going into the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings owned the No. 11 selection. Many felt that would be the key piece of the puzzle for choosing a young quarterback, a perspective that ended up being largely correct with the small hop up the board for J.J. McCarthy.

Former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah scooped up the Michigan passer with the No. 10 pick, a spot the Vikings snagged after sending out No. 11 with a 4th and a 5th. Now under the leadership of GM Nolan Teasley, the Vikings are considered a candidate to move McCarthy in the trade market. A recent piece from ESPN further ratcheted up the overall speculation surrounding the young fella.

The J.J. McCarthy Trade Rumor

Jeremy Fowler and Matt Graziano of ESPN sent along some NFL buzz. Some J.J. McCarthy speculation, conjecture, and insight got shoehorned into the mix.

Consider Fowler’s commentary on Minnesota’s QB3 and the Giants’ need after losing Jaxson Dart: “Yeah, the quarterback options are scarce. [Jimmy] Garoppolo appears to be in that half retirement phase. It might be worth a call to Minnesota, where J.J. McCarthy toils on the bench. General manager Joe Schoen did a lot of homework on the 2024 draft class of quarterbacks, so he knows the pros and cons of McCarthy’s game. Rival teams believe McCarthy can be acquired at a value since Minnesota doesn’t appear to have him in the long-term plans.”

Something to consider is that an NFL trade is an instance of needing two to tango.

For a little while, onlookers have been connecting the purple dots on a possible J.J. McCarthy trade. So far, there has been no trade. Maybe that’s because there hasn’t been an offer(s). Maybe that’s because the offer(s) hasn’t been compelling enough. Why deplete the depth for a 5th?

Already, the Vikings have seen QB1 Kyler Murray miss time due to concussion. In fact, Murray has played just eleven snaps, ceding the great bulk of the work to Carson Wentz in Week 1 and Week 2.

Wentz has done well, all things considered, but his lack of arm strength is an issue. The veteran thinks the game at a high level and is fantastic at the line of scrimmage. We’ve seen him get hit hard several times already, appearing to be in some pain a time or two. Like Murray, Wentz has succumbed to injury a time or two over the years.

Neither the QB1 nor the QB2 could be described as the NFL’s version of Cal Ripken.

Should the Vikings move off of the three-headed monster at quarterback? Wasn’t a deep quarterback room the plan all along? Max Brosmer is still around on the practice squad but he’s not ready for on-field work in 2026.

Nobody can dispute that J.J. McCarthy is a talented passer who has been through some unlucky injuries and who is still young. What can be debated is whether he could be pried away if a team sends over a really lucrative asset(s).

So, where does the offer need to go to trade the young arm who was publicly praised as the franchise quarterback by Kevin O’Connell roughly two years ago?

Next up for the Minnesota Vikings is a Week 3 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pulling off the win will mean climbing up to 3-0 despite moving through some early passer turmoil.