J.J. McCarthy trade option emerges for Vikings after $130m backup deal for Kyler Murray

A quarterback log-jam is beginning to build in Minnesota.

Heads were beginning to swivel when the Vikings signed Kyler Murray at the beginning of the offseason, but their latest move could signal the end of J.J. McCarthy’s tenure with the team.

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On Thursday, Minnesota announced that they had brought back Carson Wentz on a one-year contract.

Now 32, the second overall pick behind Jared Goff in the 2016 NFL Draft has earned $134 million in a career that has spanned six different teams ad earned him one Super Bowl ring with Philadelphia in February 2018.

When injury hit the Vikings camp last season, Wentz was drafted in last summer to play behind McCarthy and ended up starting five games before a shoulder injury and surgery cut his season short.

NFL analysts speculated that the Vikings extended McCarthy’s absence initially due to a high-ankle sprain he suffered in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season, because Wentz was playing better.

Judd Zulgand of SKOR North noted that the teams decision to bring back Wentz  is sure to put McCarthy on notice.

“The Vikings have been attempting to tell everyone that Murray would compete for the job and up to this point, the assumption was that battle would be with J.J. McCarthy,” Zulgand wrote.

“That would leave Wentz as the No.3 quarterback, and it’s difficult to believe he signed on 19 March to accept a role as the backup to the backup.

“It’s more likely that Murray will open training camp as the starter with Wentz behind him.”

McCarthy went 6-4 as the Vikings’ starter last season, throwing for 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for a further 181 yards and four scores.

If McCarthy is set to drop to No.3 on the depth chart, it’s not unreasonable to think Minnesota might shop him this offseason.

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Even McCarthy’s camp may push for a move, given the fact he was highly touted out of the 2024 Draft and he is still just 23-years-old.

Former QB predicts destination for McCarthy if traded by the Vikings

The future of J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota has never looked more bleak, particularly after the Wentz deal.

Former Pro Bowl Quarterback and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III suggests the team should trade the 23-year-old, with an arch rival being one of the better fits around.

“So for me, you talk about the Green Bay Packers with Matt LaFleur, have him sit behind Jordan Love,” Griffin III said on his Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast.

“Look what that did for Malik Willis, who is now a millionaire, multi multi 20 millionaire playing for the Miami Dolphins because he backed up Jordan Love and he was able to develop after he left Tennessee.”

LaFleur has an excellent track record of developing quarterbacks and Green Bay may be able to obtain him from their rivals if they outbid other suitors.

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The former Washington Commanders QB also listed the Los Angeles Rams as a potential destination for McCarthy.

It would be a chance to learn from Super Bowl Champions Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, who controversially won NFL MVP.

The Rams current depth chart seems them without a significant insurance policy to an ageing Stafford who enters his age 39 season in 2026.

After the expiry of Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract, Stetson Bennett – a fourth round pick in 2023 – is the only quarterback on the books in LA.

Garoppolo could return with options running out across the league – but McCarthy would offer McVay a fascinating project to learn behind Stafford with little pressure of being the starter or in a competition for QB1.

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