New J.J. McCarthy Rumors Reveal Whether QB Made Vikings Roster amid Trade Buzz After Demotion

J.J. McCarthy's future with the Minnesota Vikings remains up in the air, but he will at least make the initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

This was far from a sure thing as the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft was considered a potential cut candidate amid potential trade rumors going into Sunday.

"I've called around the league on trade possibilities for backup quarterbacks, his name really didn't come up a lot yesterday and this morning," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter. "But they have Carson Wentz, who was one of their backups last time. So they want to make Wentz the two and McCarthy the three, or do they want to move on? That's sort of the question that looms around the league right now."

With Kyler Murray already established as the starter, the Vikings have until Sunday's 6 p.m. ET roster cut deadline to decide whether they will cut McCarthy if they cannot find a trade.

The writing seemed to be on the wall for McCarthy's future as the Vikings' starter when they brought in Murray during the offseason.

Yes, there was a quarterback competition during training camp. But a team that truly believes in its top-10 draft pick as the quarterback for the next decade-plus likely wouldn't have brought in such an established name to compete.

Murray himself is looking to bounce back after injuries limited him to just five games last season and eight games in 2023. Still, he was a back-to-back Pro Bowler during the 2020 and 2021 campaigns and could elevate the team's offense simply by being an average quarterback.

And that may be all he needs to do given the overall talent surrounding him on a roster that includes Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones and T.J. Hockenson, among others.

Minnesota managed to go 9-8 last season while rotating through McCarthy, Wentz and Max Brosmer under center. That is not exactly a list of All-Pro candidates, but the talent around the signal-caller gave the team a high floor.

McCarthy completed just 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season. His QBR of 35.6 was 30th in the league, per Pro Football Reference, and his inconsistency may have cost the Vikings a playoff spot.

It now remains to be seen how the Vikings move forward with the young quarterback.