Are the Minnesota Vikings done tinkering with their quarterback depth chart?
With J.J. McCarthy expected to return at some point, potentially after the team’s Week 6 bye, at least one NFL insider believes general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could sell a signal-caller prior to this year’s trade deadline.
With McCarthy on the shelf rehabbing a high ankle sprain, the Vikings have managed to go 1-1 with 32-year-old veteran Carson Wentz under center. For a player who was signed barely over a month ago, Wentz has done his job.
Through four games, including two starts for Wentz and two for McCarthy, Wentz has been the more efficient game manager. He has topped McCarthy in completion percentage (66.7), passing yards (523), passing touchdowns (4), interceptions (2), and QB rating (98.2).
Perhaps most importantly, Wentz has done a better job of getting the ball to superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who has 15 catches for 201 yards with Wentz, compared to seven catches for 125 yards with McCarthy.
Wentz has been far from perfect, as he’s already taken nine sacks since taking over as the starter in Week 3. The Vikings’ offensive line has been ravaged by injuries, and the team is definitely missing McCarthy’s superior mobility; even after sitting out the past two games, McCarthy remains Minnesota’s second-leading rusher with 50 yards, averaging 7.1 per carry.
Minnesota pivoted away from former QB2 Sam Howell at the end of the preseason, and that decision has aged well. The Vikings recouped some draft capital for Howell in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, and once McCarthy is ready to return in a few weeks, Wentz could be their next QB asset that Adofo-Mensah looks to flip.
NFL Insider suggests Minnesota Vikings could deal Carson Wentz before the trade deadline
While Wentz has been a fit for Minnesota so far, there’s no denying the Vikings’ confidence in the two young quarterbacks on their roster — McCarthy and rookie Max Brosmer.
Minnesota also made a potentially telling roster move back on September 17, when it filled an open spot on the 53-man roster with QB Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.
The Vikings’ decision to carry four active quarterbacks hints at bigger moves coming. They could still place McCarthy on injured reserve if coach Kevin O’Connell decides to continue with Wentz while developing McCarthy’s timing and footwork behind the scenes; they could also turn back to McCarthy — their QB of the future — as soon as Week 7, and look to move Wentz to a QB-needy team at the deadline in exchange for future draft capital.
ESPN insider Dan Graziano recently shared his belief that at least one quarterback will be on the move prior to this year’s Nov. 4 trade deadline, and he interestingly named Wentz among the top candidates like Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins.
“Now, it could be someone such as Carson Wentz or Kenny Pickett, which wouldn't exactly make headlines, but I think you're asking if it could be someone such as Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson or one of the Cleveland rookies (Dillon Gabriel was named the Browns starter Wednesday morning). Anything's possible.”
Graziano is pretty well tapped in, but this idea frankly comes a bit out of left field.
The Vikings clearly wanted to roster an experienced backup QB behind McCarthy this year. Brosmer had a strong training camp to make the team as an undrafted free agent, but he doesn’t have enough reps to fit the QB2 bill yet.
Ridder is an interesting project for O’Connell behind the scenes, but similar to Howell, he’s still raw and is now with his third team in four years.
Minnesota could hold as many as 11 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, assuming they’re awarded expected compensatory picks in the third, fourth, and seventh rounds, per Over the Cap, for the free agent departures of Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Trent Sherfield; seven of those selections would be slated for Day 3.
Would the Vikings really want to add another pick in that range for Wentz, who has looked better than expected in O’Connell’s offense so far, and just appeared in his 100th career NFL game to boot?
As Graziano wrote, anything is possible. Minnesota has managed through depleted draft boards in recent years, and the need to add young talent will be paramount in 2026.
In this case, the risk far outweighs the reward. McCarthy’s injury history has to be factored in here, and Wentz is filling a clear role — as the veteran QB this depth chart desperately needs this year.