As the J.J. McCarthy situation keeps adding troubling tentacles, from regression in his play over the last couple of games to another injury that may or may not have been handled ideally, the Minnesota Vikings will be in a tough spot when the offseason comes.
At the very least, a veteran addition to compete with McCarthy for the starting job in 2026 feels inevitable. On the extreme end of that idea, McCarthy will simply be replaced as the starter, and his future in Minnesota will be cast into undeniable doubt.
In terms of quarterbacks the Vikings could pursue in the offseason to compete with/replace McCarthy, the suggestion of Mac Jones is certainly better than some other options that are in line to be mentioned.
Jones, of course, has spent this season with the San Francisco 49ers, starting eight games when Brock Purdy missed time due to injury. He's also on a two-year contract, so in theory, he'll be a tradeable asset for the 49ers, and multiple teams will likely be interested.
49ers analyst adds aggressive tentacle to J.J. McCarthy situation for the Minnesota Vikings
Grant Cohn, who covers the 49ers for SI.com, has offered a list of nine teams that could make a trade for Jones this offseason.
Unsurprisingly, the Vikings were the first team on Cohn's list, with the expected note about McCarthy's struggles.
"J.J. McCarthy doesn't seem ready to start for a good team yet -- his quarterback rating is just 61.7 despite playing with two of the NFL's best wide receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison."
That's a simple way to boil down why the Vikings may have to consider pivoting away from McCarthy. Then Cohn added a layer to the idea of them attempting to trade for Jones.
"The Vikings don't have time to wait for McCarthy to develop. They're ready to win now. Which means they could try to trade McCarthy and a third-round pick to the 49ers for Jones, who would be an instant upgrade."
The Vikings adding competition for McCarthy, or adding someone who will simply replace him as the starting quarterback in 2026, is one thing. But if a trade is made to bring someone in, sending him away in that offseason deal feels very unlikely.
Unless the plan is to take a quarterback early in next April's draft, then all bets regarding McCarthy would be off, and including him in a trade for Jones (or someone of that ilk) would become plausible.