The Minnesota Vikings are 14-2 and have a chance for the NFC North title and home-field advantage in the playoffs ahead of Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions. But while the thrill of a potential Super Bowl run headlines Sunday’s game so is the future regarding Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the latest to speculate on the Vikings quarterback situation in 2025 during an appearance on ESPN 1000 with Courtney Cronin on Wednesday morning and suggested that teams will be calling Minnesota to see if they can swing a trade for McCarthy this spring.
“There’s a lot of hypotheticals, but what I would say is this…in a limited quarterback draft class, where there are more tames that need quarterbacks and quarterbacks who actually can step in right away. I definitely think teams will be checking in with the Vikings to see if they have any interest in trading J.J. McCarthy. Now, they may say we don’t and that’s the end of it. But do I think teams will explore that option? Of course. Absolutely 100 percent.”
Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy have complicated futures with Vikings beyond 2024
The Vikings solved their quarterback situation last spring when they signed Darnold to a one-year, $10 million to replace Kirk Cousins. The Vikings followed that move by selecting McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in last April’s draft and the plan was for Darnold to start the season until McCarthy was up to speed.
Things changed when McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Vikings’ preseason opener last August and Darnold outperformed expectations as the full-time starter, throwing for 4,153 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions entering Week 18.
The performance has The Athletic’s Dianna Russini believing the Vikings “clearly” want Darnold to return in 2025 and many others have cited the Green Bay Packers approach with Jordan Love to give McCarthy another year of development.
But Schefter’s hunch that teams will call the Vikings makes sense due to a lack of pro-ready options in this year’s draft outside of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward. Schefter also noted that McCarthy would have been one of the top quarterbacks “if not the quarterback” in next year’s draft, which could entice teams to offer more than the first-fourth and fifth-round selections the Vikings gave to the New York Jets to take McCarthy last April.
“McCarthy would have been a top quarterback if not the top quarterback prospect in this draft. Yes, he’s coming off the ACL, so it really doesn’t matter. And if the Vikings decided to trade him, which I don’t know if they will, I believe they would get back everything they put into him and then some. It would be a pick and then some.”
The interesting part is that Schefter referred to McCarthy’s injury as “an ACL” as opposed to the torn meniscus the Vikings have labeled it dating back to last August. McCarthy underwent a second procedure for his knee back in November but signs point to him being ready to return for training camp.
With Darnold set to make at least the projected $41.3 million with the franchise tag next year, keeping McCarthy and installing him as the starter was the Vikings likely plan last April. But with all the moving parts, Minnesota has an interesting decision to make once the season comes to a close.