J.J. McCarthy Trade, Demotion to QB3 Behind Carson Wentz Floated by NFL Insider After Kyler Battle

One prominent NFL insider isn't so sure J.J. McCarthy has any future on the Minnesota Vikings.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler suggested Sunday on SportsCenter the Vikings "field a few trade calls" for the 2024 first-round pick. Should he remain in Minnesota to start the regular season, McCarthy may not even be the backup to Kyler Murray, with Carson Wentz bumping him to third in the depth chart.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell named Murray the starter before the team opened the preseason, and McCarthy has done little since then to show that was the wrong decision.

The third-year signal-caller went 4-of-7 for 34 yards in a 13-10 win over the New York Giants. Then he was 5-of-10 for 81 yards as Minnesota lost 13-3 to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

McCarthy completed a nice 50-yard pass to Tai Felton in the first quarter against Baltimore.

On the whole, however, it was a lackluster showing. One of his persistent issues was on display as he struggled with his touch on shorter throws.

The fact McCarthy missed his entire rookie year through injury can't be an excuse anymore. Somebody selected 10th overall should be further along in his development.

It's bad enough the Vikings brought Murray in and quickly installed him as QB1. Should McCarthy lose out on the backup gig to Wentz, there may be no coming back for him in Minneapolis. The coaching staff would be displaying little faith in his talent right now.

There's no chance Minnesota would recoup its original investment from a trade, but there's likely to be at least one team willing to give something up to see if McCarthy can thrive in a new setting.