Don't expect Vikings to pursue 2024-saving trade after J.J. McCarthy injury

The Minnesota Vikings got hit with some rough news on Wednesday when it was announced that rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy would miss the entire regular season after needing to undergo meniscus repair surgery.

While McCarthy wasn't likely going to start the season as the Vikings QB1, it's still a huge blow for the team since they invested a first-round pick into the kid and now he'll never set foot on the field in a 2024 regular-season game.

The injury news might lead some people to start thinking a trade to bring in a big-hitter (or as close to a big-hitter as a team can get at this point in the offseason) like Jake Browning, Justin Fields, or Jimmy Garoppolo was on the table, but Vikings fans shouldn't expect the team to do that.

Minnesota Vikings shouldn't be making any crazy trades after J.J. McCarthy news

First and foremost, the Vikings don't really have a lot to surrender in a trade. They gave up quite a bit to land McCarthy and Dallas Turner in this year's draft, and that's left them with just three picks for the 2025 NFL Draft. One of those picks is in the first round, and the other two are in round five, so that doesn't give them much to hang over teams' heads in trade talks.

Another reason why the Vikings probably aren't looking to trade for a big name at quarterback is that they weren't really planning on this season being anything more than a rebuilding year. Sure, anything is possible, but when a team is banking on Sam Darnold and a rookie quarterback to lead the way on offense, a playoff appearance feels like more of a pipedream than anything else.

In other words, the Vikings were likely okay with this season being more of a down year, while McCarthy got acclimated to the offense. Maybe the team still decides to trade for a less expensive option like former Vikings quarterbacks Case Keenum or Taylor Heinicke, but at this point, the plan should be to let Darnold pilot the plane, keep Nick Mullens around as a backup, and let former fifth-rounder Jaren Hall stay on the roster as a third-string option.

This is unfortunate news for McCarthy and it steals an entire year of development away from him but hopefully he comes back stronger from this and the team can build around him in the future. No use trading away more draft picks when the season already isn't trending in the right direction.

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