The idea of the Minnesota Vikings trading J.J. McCarthy has been circulating for weeks, and even more so now.
The Minnesota Vikings have a starting quarterback battle brewing at TCO Performance Center. It's seemingly been skewed toward Kyler Murray due to his performance in the two OTA practices that media has been allowed at. That has prompted more discussion about trading away J.J. McCarthy, with Tom Pelissero being the latest to mention it.
"Again, I would imagine you're going to start to see the reps perhaps change a little bit here over these next couple of weeks as they hone in on what their plan is going to be going into training camp. And I'm not saying this, I don't know what direction they're going to go as you get closer to the season, but let's say Kyler wins the job, which I would lean toward Kyler is the starting quarterback. Do you have J.J. as the backup? Do you potentially look to trade him while there's still some intrigue within the league? You might be able to get more for him with two years left on his rookie contract than with one year left. Those are all things that I would think you're going to talk through."
There is no certainty that McCarthy will be traded, but it's not an accident that Pelissero mentioned it right after new general manager Nolan Teasley was hired. There could be smoke to that fire. What could the potential offers be? I gauged interest for a potential trade by asking my coworkers here at A to Z Sports, and got some realistic ones that could come to fruition.
4 hypothetical trade ideas for Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy
Jim Harbaugh gets his quarterback
New York Jets get 2027 NFL Draft insurance
Minnesota Vikings reunite Kyler Murray with his backup quarterback
Dolphins get Malik Willis insurance
Vikings should select trade proposal from Jets
Chargers
receive:J.J. McCarthy
Vikings receive:2027 5th round pick
Why not, right? Someone had to say it. Giving up draft capital for McCarthy implies there's faith in the person. No one may have more faith in him at this level than Jim Harbaugh. L.A.'s head coach won his College Football Playoff National Championship with McCarthy under center. He recruited him, coached him, and publicly vouched for him leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft. Trey Lance is a fine backup for Justin Herbert , but McCarthy would give them a reserve with multiple years remaining on his contract.
– John Sheeran , A to Z Sports Cincinnati beat writer.
Jets receive:J.J. McCarthy
Vikings receive:2027 5th-round pick (conditional pick that rises to a 3rd with 70% snaps played)
Let's be honest, the New York Jets aren't going to field a very competitive team in 2026, or at least not on the offensive side of the ball. After his career resurgence in Seattle , Geno Smith has regressed to the mean over the past couple of seasons, including a year to forget in Vegas last year. Even if he recaptures the magic of his 2022-2023 campaigns in Seattle, Smith turns 36 in October. The Jets are searching for their quarterback of the future, and they are well-positioned to do so in the 2027 class with three 1st-rounders.
But why delay the process? Let's say you trade for J.J. McCarthy, he wins the backup job, and then at some point during the season, you turn to him. Now, let's say he plays well. Suddenly, you have a bridge quarterback at the very least, if not a long-term backup. Plus, you will still have all of your premier draft capital, because McCarthy isn't fetching anything close to a 1st-rounder. A low-risk, high-reward proposition for the Jets here.
– Rob Gregson , A to Z Sports Pittsburgh beat writer.
Cardinals receives:J.J. McCarthy
Vikings receives: Jacoby Brissett
, 2027 6th-round pick
The Cardinals are in obvious rebuilding mode. So they honestly don't have much incentive to be a mediocre team because of veteran players. To make things more complicated, Brissett wants more money because he's the presumed starter. Paying more to have a worse pick in 2027 makes no sense whatsoever. The Cardinals selected Carson Beck in the draft, but adding another young passer with some potential is a reasonable strategy. In order to avoid spending draft capital, Arizona would send Brissett as part of the compensation package, so the Vikings could have a solid backup for Kyler Murray.
– Wendell Ferreira , A to Z Sports Green Bay beat writer.
Dolphins receive:J.J. McCarthy
Vikings receive:2027 4th-round pick
The Miami Dolphins are currently in the early chapters of their search for a quarterback under Jeff Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan. The team is obviously very invested in Malik Willis - as they paid a handsome amount of money in free agency to land the former Packers backup.
But after signing Willis, the team did not invest a draft selection in a quarterback, which leaves the future of the position very much open-ended unless Willis blows the doors off the joint in 2026. For the right price, the Dolphins would be fools not to see if McCarthy could serve as the competition needed to help SOMEONE rise to the top of the quarterback room. The Dolphins are a cap-tight team in 2026, which makes McCarthy's rookie contract and $2.781M cash/cap charge this season all that much more intriguing.
But the Dolphins aren't likely to be high bidders in the trade market here. It's going to be a "dangle an offer out and if it works out, great" situation.
– Kyle Crabbs , A to Z Sports Miami beat writer.
There are two things at play here: getting proper draft capital back for McCarthy, but also getting him an opportunity to potentially be a starting quarterback somewhere. The Dolphins offered the best package from a guaranteed draft pick standpoint, but the Jets offering a condition on the fifth-round pick to improve it into a third-round pick, while only having Geno Smith in his way makes it the smartest move.
