Minnesota Vikings Urged to Trade J.J. McCarthy Soon

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.