Other teams have placed calls to the Minnesota Vikings about J.J. McCarthy, KOA Radio’s Benjamin Allbright reported on Thursday. He grouped the 23-year-old with a set of quarterbacks drawing varying levels of interest around the league as final roster cuts approach.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network has reported that Minnesota would consider moving McCarthy if the return were a strong enough draft pick, which sets a price on him without committing Minnesota to anything. Nothing forces the Vikings to act. The quarterback room has four names in it and the roster limit is 53.
Minnesota Vikings Quietly Pursuing Exit Strategy for J.J. McCarthy After Disappointing Season
(Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images)
Carson Wentz has been taking the larger share of second-team snaps, and Alec Lewis of The Athletic said on the Vikings Collective podcast this week that”Carson Wentz is definitely going to be the backup for the Minnesota Vikings. And so, that would then lead you down the road of J.J. McCarthy as the No. 3 quarterback. How okay is he going to be with that? I think that’s a very valid question. If he’s not okay with that, does that end up leading to a conversation about, you know, is this the end of the road?”
That leaves McCarthy third behind Kyler Murray and Wentz, with 2025 undrafted rookie Max Brosmer also on the roster and a candidate for the practice squad if he clears waivers.
McCarthy did not play in Friday’s preseason finale at Denver because of an ankle injury suffered against the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 22. He practiced in scaled-down sessions Monday and Tuesday and sat out Wednesday. Kevin O’Connell had wanted him to start that game, which was the last window McCarthy had to change an evaluation before Sunday.
The Vikings could trade JJ McCarthy, if they receive a strong enough draft pick to consider it, per @RapSheet.
McCarthy lost the starting job to Kyler Murray, and he soon could be QB3 behind Carson Wentz if not moved. pic.twitter.com/KCHKYBrWQA
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) August 28, 2026
What can Minnesota actually get for J.J. McCarthy?
McCarthy went 6-4 as a starter across 10 games last season, completing 57.6 percent of his throws for 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He finished 5 of 10 for 81 yards against Baltimore this month, and 50 of those yards arrived on one underthrown ball that Tai Felton adjusted to and caught.
Vikings Territory ran the comparable trades for former first-round quarterbacks move after losing a job and found the return has fallen steadily since Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold each brought back a second-round pick, concluding McCarthy is unlikely to fetch more than a fifth-rounder now. A team calling this week would be buying two guaranteed seasons and a chance to find out what is left, and the market now expresses that price in Day 3 picks.
Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) walks off the field after the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
He is owed $1.075 million for the remainder of 2026 and $3.775 million in 2027, both fully guaranteed, which is why many, including Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote that “the Vikings undoubtedly would try to trade him” instead of releasing him, while noting that Minnesota may have to absorb part of that money to close a deal.
Nolan Teasley, hired from Seattle on June 1, has no attachment to the decision that brought McCarthy to Minnesota. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded up one spot with the Jets in April 2024 to take him 10th overall, and he was fired in January.
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