In the middle of his third year with the franchise, J.J. McCarthy's tenure with the Minnesota Vikings hasn't come anywhere close to what he or the team had envisioned for the quarterback when he was selected with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
After losing the battle for Minnesota's QB1 job to Kyler Murray earlier this month, some are now wondering if McCarthy is even going to be able to beat out Carson Wentz for the team's No. 2 quarterback job.
If that happens, some believe the third-year signal-caller might want the Vikings to trade him. But if McCarthy wants his career to last more than just a few more years, The Ringer's Tom Pelissero (formerly of NFL Media) shared on a recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast" why sticking with Minnesota in 2026 could be the better option.
"If I'm him, I don't want to get traded. To me, if I'm a young quarterback, I don't want, in late August, to get traded to a team that might be running a completely different system with players I don't know, zero reps, [and] zero time on task to build a rhythm and timing and tempo you need in an NFL passing offense.
Then, god forbid the [new team's] starter gets hurt, and everyone's like "Let's see J.J.!" and you get thrown out there. That's a way to end your career."
Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy should listen to Tom Pelissero's advice
As the No. 10 overall draft pick in 2024 and last season's starting quarterback for the Vikings, there's no doubt that McCarthy could potentially have too much pride to be okay with starting the 2026 campaign as Minnesota's QB3.
But as Pelissero mentioned, right now is a terrible time to join a new team, especially if he lands somewhere with a completely different offensive scheme.
Let's just say, for example, McCarthy gets traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they want him to be the No. 2 behind Aaron Rodgers.
There are certainly similar elements of Minnesota and Pittsburgh's offensive schemes, but if McCarthy had to fill in for an injured Rodgers in Week 2 or Week 3, his head would likely spin completely off his body.
We've already seen that processing speed is something McCarthy still needs to work on with the Vikings, despite this being his third year in Kevin O'Connell's offense. So what makes anyone think his ability to process what's going on out on the field during a play would improve in a completely different offense in a very short amount of time?
Even if he's not the QB2 to open the 2026 season, keeping McCarthy around is also what's currently best for Minnesota. What would they even get for him at this point in a trade? A late Day 3 pick, at best?
Not every successful NFL quarterback has traveled down the same the same path to get there. Beginning the 2026 campaign as the Vikings' QB3 might not be the most ideal road to McCarthy, but it might be the best route to lead him to where he would like to eventually be.
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