After signing Kyler Murray, the Minnesota Vikings are widely expected to force 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to a backup role. Of course, the current plan is to have Murray work to earn the starting role in a competition with the 23-year-old quarterback, but plans can change quickly.
The Vikings also have Carson Wentz and 2025 undrafted signee Max Brosmer in their QB room, giving Minnesota a total of four options on the depth chart. That’s more than enough to get the season started; chances are, they’ll end up cutting Brosmer and trying to slip him onto their practice squad. But again, things could change.
Recently, Yahoo’s NFL insider Charles Robinson advised the Vikings to trade McCarthy either during the 2026 NFL Draft or soon after, believing this is the time when the third-year QB’s value will be at its peak.
Maybe I’m the only one who continues to believe this, but I don’t think the Vikings are really trying to have a quarterback competition between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray. I don’t think McCarthy’s trade value is going to go anywhere but down from here. If the Vikings are eventually going to deal him, this is the window — either during this draft or afterward — with a team that is looking for a young developmental backup. This is going to become an Anthony Richardson/Zach Wilson scenario quickly, where there is just no value to be had from a former high draft pick. And something to keep in mind about whether McCarthy is even tradable: Malik Willis’ starting career looked like it was torched after his first two years with the Tennessee Titans, but he landed in the right place in Green Bay and turned it around. McCarthy needs that kind of new start. If they can get a look at a guy at a reasonable price, teams will deal for quarterbacks if they haven’t completely gone off a cliff yet.
If the Vikings did find a trade partner for McCarthy, we’d imagine they’d bring in another developmental prospect to fill in the blanks. Unless they remain really high on Brosmer’s pro prospects. Or perhaps there’s a deal to work out with Indianapolis, swapping Richardson for McCarthy and perhaps some draft compensation exchanging hands too, giving both young QBs a fresh start.
For now, the Vikings have thrown nothing but support behind McCarthy publicly. Yet, they’ve also moved quite aggressively to fill out their depth chart, bringing in legitimate competition to keep pushing him further down the pecking order. At some point, he may ask out, which could grease the wheels for a trade too.
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