Vikings will ‘100 percent’ be getting trade calls on J.J. McCarthy after Sam Darnold breakout

Vikings will ‘100 percent’ be getting trade calls on J.J. McCarthy after Sam Darnold breakout

Consider the question begged.

The phone is practically already ringing. 

The ghosts have been dispensed, the Vikings are playoff-bound — with a chance to secure a first round bye with a win over the Lions on Sunday — and Sam Darnold is slinging it. 

What, then, does Minnesota do with the man drafted 10th overall in last year’s draft?

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy stands on the field before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in October. McCarthy has yet to take a regular season snap in the NFL after suffering a season-ending injury during his preseason debut. AP

The presumed would-be franchise quarterback who, without ever taking a meaningful snap, has seen his starting job stolen away?

Where will J.J. McCarthy be come training camp 2025?

NFL insider Adam Schefter called into ESPN radio to address the purple elephant in the room.

“In a limited quarterback draft class where there are far more teams that need quarterbacks than quarterbacks than can actually step in right away, I definitely think teams will be checking in with the Vikings to see if they have any interest in trading J.J. McCarthy,” Schefter said.

“The [Vikings] may say ‘we don’t,’ and that’s the end of it,” he continued. “But do I think teams will explore that option … of course, absolutely, 100 percent.”

Minnesota’s brᴀss hasn’t seen what they truly have in McCarthy, who suffered a torn meniscus during his preseason debut.

But in Darnold — contrary to all Jets’ fans saw between 2018 and 2020 — it seems they’ve got a certified baller.

Sam Darnold won 13 games over three seasons with the Jets. In his first season with the Vikings, with one week still remaining, he’s already collected 14. Getty Images

The 27-year-old joined the Vikings on a one-year, $10 million contract ahead of the 2024 season. 

Justin Jefferson is still the best wide receiver in the world.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell watches the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in December. AP

Jordan Addison has picked up right where he left off after a stellar rookie campaign.

Even Jalen Nailor is setting career-bests in Year 3.

The trio’s spectacularism is unquestionable, but how much responsibility does Darnold bear?

At least, Schefter thinks, enough to beg the question.

“J.J. McCarthy would have been a top — if not the top — quarterback prospect in this year’s draft. And yes, he’s coming off the ACL [injury], so what? It doesn’t really matter,” the insider said. “And if the Vikings decided that they wanted to trade him, which I don’t know that they will, I believe they will get back everything they put into him and then some.”

While the winner of Sunday’s Vikings-Lions matchup secures the one-seed and home-field advantage throughout the post-season, the loser falls down to the fifth seed and has to travel for a first-round matchup.

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